Waiting for the Echo
by TheSparkleQueen
Summary: Peter once saved Katie's life, and she'll spend the rest of hers trying to pay him back. But between a power she didn't even know that she had and the involvement of an increasingly mysterious Sylar, Katie isn't sure where to start. Peter/OC from the beginning. Spans all seasons and then some
1. Prologue

**Hey Guys**

TheSparkleQueen here, long time stalker, first time writer! So this story has been a long time in the making; I've been working off and on for the past two years and thought I'd finally share it with you lovely readers :) It's a Peter/OC story from the beginning, but there is quite a fair bit of Sylar in the later chapters...I couldn't resist! It'll span across all the seasons and I've penned out an outline for some action to happen after the finale as well.  
Constructive criticism is, of course, always welcome.  
**R&R?**

**Enjoy!**

**Prologue: Waiting for the Echo**

_"__I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.__"_**  
****Richard Wright**

It would have been a glorious evening for star-gazing. The night, so unusual clear for New York, was dotted with glittering stars, and the absence of clouds was a welcome surprise. Never before had Katie seen such a sight. Unfortunately for her, she did not get the chance to dwell upon the beauty, for the events unfolding in Kirby Plaza took precedent.

Then again, for her, Peter always took precedent.

He was there, front and center, a position he never normally held, battling against a man. The man that had murdered her best friend. A man named Sylar.

_"__Chloe! Are you here?"_

_The normally noisy apartment was deadly silent as Katie made her way through the few rooms. It wasn't like her friend to miss plans, and so when she failed to show up for their movie, Katie had rushed over, her mind whirling with possible scenarios._

_She slept in. Her family dog passed away. She couldn't find a cab to meet her._

_She caught a glimpse of herself in the hallway mirror, brown eyes nervous and rosy lips turned down into a frown. Worrying for that girl was going to be the death of her, she knew it._

_Katie sighed as she reached Chloe's bedroom, before knocking lightly on the mahogany, she could hear the quiet, dulcet sounds of Vivaldi coming from within the room._

_"__You missed the movie you dolt-"she started, pushing open the door._

_All she could remember were those lifeless eyes staring up at her, and the blood. Those eyes haunted her dreams every night since._

Shaking herself out of her disturbing reverie, Katie turned her head back to look at Peter. Their eyes met for mere moments before Sylar took his attention again, but Katie could see the desperation and exhaustion her friend was feeling. They both knew why, but neither really wanted to admit it. If he defeated Sylar, he would blow up and destroy New York. If he didn't, Sylar would continue murdering innocent people like Chloe. It was a wicked double edged sword, but it was obvious which option Peter was fighting for. A true Hero, through and through, Katie knew that since the moment she met him.

_She hadn't felt this scared since Chloe died. A mere 2 weeks ago, Katie knew, but those 14 days had been the hardest of her life. Everything she did, everywhere she went, she could see Chloe's eyes. Even in her sleep they chased her, telling her if she had only come sooner, her best friend would still be alive. Still be that bubbly, quirky, amazing person._

_But she was gone._

_And now Katie wanted to be too. So there she stood, feet precariously balanced on the ledge on the roof of Chloe's apartment building, ready to jump._

_She took a deep breath, a small smile on her lips, eyes closed, and leaned forwards, knowing she would be with her best friend again soon._

_But something unexpected happened._

_A rough hand grabbed the back of her jacket, and pulled her quickly backwards with a sharp yank._

_Her eyes snapped open and the air left her lungs in a great whoosh, and she fell onto the hard concrete of the rooftop, a body pinning her to the ground._

_Startled, she lay there blinking for a few moments, mind trying to wrap itself around what had just occurred._

_Somebody had pulled her back._

_"__Who-" Katie started, staring at the man in black who had regained his footing and stood across from her._

_"__It's Peter." He said, flicking his bangs out of the way revealing a boyish, yet charming face._

_Katie took a moment to study him; he wore a black trench, which seemed to highlight the intensity in his eyes. His brown hair was dirty, but not overly so, as were his clothes. Then she noticed the hand which he held to her, trying to help her up off the ground._

_She took it, dusting the gravel off her jeans, and turned away._

_"__I'm not going to ask you why you did it." He spoke up, voice rumbling over the fierce Manhattan wind. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye; he was leaning over the rail, observing the pedestrians below._

_"__Hell, I tried to jump off this very spot a while ago. Everyone has their reasons I guess." He smiled at her, and she couldn't help but to smile back, something about this man seemed to draw her in._

_"__I'm Katie." She spoke, clearing her throat twice for good measure. "Thank you."_

_"__Hm?" he made a noise in the back of his throat, glancing over at her again, "What for?"_

_"__For not prying. For saving me. I don't know why I was going to do it. Spur of the moment I guess. I'm not crazy of anything, I promise. It's just –" she stopped herself. Why was she telling all this to a complete stranger? A handsome stranger, yes, but a stranger nonetheless._

_She spun on her heel, and walked towards the rooftop door, hand hovering over the handle. Chloe would stay. She thought to herself. She would stay and explain everything; she would make a new friend, and not be afraid or embarrassed. _

_So she slowly walked back to Peter, who hadn't moved an inch, but had kept up his people watching. _

_"__My best friend was murdered." She said the words evenly and strongly, willing herself not to cry, like she did every time she thought of Chloe. Katie held up a hand when Peter's eyes filled with empathy and his mouth opened to no doubt give her his apology._

_"__No, don't pity me. God knows I've been doing too much of that myself lately."_

_She paused, it had been the first time she had told anyone out loud what had happened to Chloe, it felt freeing, and so she continued._

_"__At first I thought I could deal with it, death happens all the time, you know? But…she was my rock. And then suddenly she was gone, and I was drifting through the middle of the ocean, with nothing to hold on to and no one in sight. And I don't know why I'm telling you this, but Chloe would be proud of me for talking about it, and you're just really easy to talk to I guess."_

_All that was said in one huge breath and Katie hung her head in her hands when she finished._

_It was silent for a moment, and then:_

_"__I tried to fly."_

_Peter hadn't spoken in a while, and so the sound of his voice surprised Katie, who looked up at him in shock and curiosity._

_"__What?"_

_"__That's why I jumped. You told me your story; I thought I should tell you mine." He smiled, and her heart fluttered a bit._

_"__Oh," she laughed a little, "what was it? Drugs?" she tilted her head._

_Peter grinned, "Something like that."_

_They both giggled at the stupidity of it, and fell back into silence._

_The sun was beginning to set, and Katie glanced at her watch, which read 7:12._

_"__I should get going," she sighed, removing herself from her place at Peter's side. The temperature had dropped, and her light jacket wasn't doing much good against the whistling wind. Katie shivered._

_A thump and a bundle of fabric landed on her shoulder, covering her head to toe in the black material of Peter's trench coat. She held it lightly between her fingers, and thanked the man quietly._

_"__But won't you be cold?" she asked, hugging herself tightly to keep warm._

_"__Nah, I don't live very far anyways, and it wouldn't take me long to get there."_

_"__Oh."_

_She grabbed the doorknob and gave it a wiggle, but it was locked._

_That's when Katie remembered she had the key, and she had locked the door behind her when she came up._

_"__Hey! How did you get up he-" she turned quickly, completely ready to interrogate Peter, but he had vanished._

_"__What…"_

She chuckled quietly, she remembered how utterly confused she had been, thinking that perhaps he had jumped down the fire escape or something.

He stayed on her mind the next couple days, her dreams being filled with him instead of Chloe, a very welcome change. She didn't try to jump again, but told herself it was mostly because she still had Peter's jacket, and wanted to return it.

The same jacket she was wearing right now actually.

Katie fisted it between her hands, and once again found herself watching the fight.

"It has to end soon." She breathed quietly from her spot in the shadows. Peter had pushed her there once the fighting began,

"Don't you dare even think of moving." He had told her, she had begrudgingly agreed, knowing that she couldn't help. She wasn't special like him.

_"__So wait….you can heal?" Katie sat dumbfounded on the diner chair, propping her chin in her hands, and staring at Peter._

_"__It's not-" he started, brown eyes watching her closely._

_"__Don't even try to tell me that's not the case. I just saw your skin stitch itself back together!" she exclaimed, pointing to his arm where she had accidentally cut him a few seconds ago. Imagine her surprise when the cut vanished._

_"__I was going to say it's not the only thing I can do." He chuckled_

_"__Wait, what?!" Katie was hopelessly confused._

_"__Come on." he pulled her out of her chair, dropping a few bills on the table to pay for their meal._

_They had been meeting up for lunch for the past couple of days after Katie found his number in the phone book to return his jacket, quickly becoming close friends._

_Still puzzled, but wanting answers, Katie let herself be pulled all the way up to the roof of a nearby apartment._

_"__What are we doing up here?" she asked, out of breath._

_He ignored her, and gazed out into the sky._

_Grabbing her hands, he brought her to the edge of the roof, and instructed her to hold on tight._

_"__Do you trust me?" he asked, staring deeply into her brown eyes. Katie found herself nodding, although her mind was screaming at her to run away._

_"__Okay, close your eyes,"_

_She did, laying her head against Peter's strong chest, and waited._

_"__What am I waiting for Peter?" she giggled, hugging him tighter._

_"__Open them" he whispered, warm breath tickling her ear._

_Slowly she did, and gasped._

_They were flying._

It was a once in a lifetime experience, at least at the time. Katie had coerced Peter to take her flying most nights since, the rush and magnificence of it all was overwhelming, and she loved it.

Katie wondered if she would ever get to go flying again.

She had had enough of sitting like a Barbie doll in the corner, and, mind set, stepped out of the shadows, fully prepared to help, in whatever way possible.

Peter saw her before she could move again though, and he pushed out his hand, sending her back with his telekinesis.

"Stay there!" he shouted, voice angry and determined.

Katie huffed and crossed her arms. It really wasn't fair how Peter got all these cool powers, and she got none.

Her mind once again trailed back into the past, remembering how she felt when she found out who had killed her friend, the man who, she hoped, was getting his butt kicked by Peter at the moment.

_"__His name is Sylar. And he's targeting people with powers."_

_"__People like you?" were the first words out of her mouth after her brain had digested the information Peter had just told her._

_He was silent, face hidden behind long bangs, before he licked his lips and shifted his stance._

_"__Yeah," it was all Katie needed to hear before she launched herself at him, hugging his tightly around the middle, a torrent of tears making their way down her cheeks._

_"__I won't lose you. Not you too." She whispered fiercely._

_Warm hands caressed her hair, fingers playing with the curls._

_"__You won't Katie. I promise."_

She had believed him then, but now she wasn't so sure.

An anguished cry drew her attention, and as Katie looked she prayed to god it wasn't Peter.

It wasn't.

She took that as her cue to rush out from her hiding place and tackle Peter around the neck, spluttering gibberish while trying to congratulate him.

"I can't believe-and SYLAR! He's dead-oh thank god Peter. I was so worried – and when you…" she broke off abruptly.

Peter's hands were glowing, and he looked up at Katie in fright.

"No. No!" He shouted, concentrating on trying to calm the power he had taken from Ted.

Katie couldn't believe this was happening. Peter never hurt anyone. Never did anything wrong. And here he was, with an uncontrollable power that would kill everyone.

"Claire!" he screamed, and the cheerleader came running, a gun in hand.

It took only a moment for everything to click into place, and then Katie threw herself in front of Peter, arms spread wide.

"Don't you dare!" she hissed towards the blond, eyes narrowed in challenge.

"I have to!" she cried back, eyes watering and hand shaking.

It was all too much, and the burning heat coming from Peter behind her was becoming increasingly hot.

"Peter! Stop it! You promised you wouldn't leave me!" she whirled around, and grabbed his arm, before pulling it back sharply. Her flesh was charred, and burnt.

She groaned, and held the appendage tightly against herself, but refused to move from Peter's side.

"I'm sorry Katie. I truly am."

"No!" she screamed, before being hauled backwards by Claire's adoptive father.

Katie struggled, but it was all futile. Claire held the gun straight, fingers ready.

A whoosh and suddenly Nathan appeared by her side, lowering the gun.

He shook his head, and said something to Claire. She stepped back, and for a second Katie's heart swelled in happiness.

Nathan was his brother, he would save Peter! He wouldn't let him die!

Katie held her breath, watched as Peter struggled to reign in the terrible power, bangs plastering themselves to his forehead in sweat. Claire rushed forwards again, grabbed something out of Peter's pocket, and returned to her spot away from the brothers, skin instantly healing from the burn.

Katie strained her ears to hear what was being said, but could hear nothing, and Nathan's ever stoic face was no help.

"Peter!" she yelled again, struggling against .

His face snapped towards hers, his smile was the last thing she saw before both he and Nathan went shooting up into the air.

Katie screamed, eyes following the two, until a mushroom cloud erupted from overhead.

Everything went deathly silent and no one dared move.

They were gone. _Peter was gone._

There was nothing else she could do, and as let go, she collapsed onto the hard pavement, wondering where it all went wrong.

Sneaker clad feet stepped into her vision, and Kate drew her gaze upwards to see the face of Claire.

She was crying.

Claire held out her delicate hand, and dropped something into Katie's lap, before walking away to join her father.

Katie's heart and head both threatened to simultaneously explode as she stared at the paper.

It had come from Peter's pocket that much was sure, the edges were burnt and it smelt of fire. This must have been what Claire had taken from him before he-

Katie refused to finish that thought, and instead looked closely at what she discovered was a drawing.

It was of her and Peter, on the roof of Chloe's building, watching the people down below on the sidewalk, smiles on both faces. It was the day she had almost jumped. The day she first met Peter, when he became her hero. The sun was setting in the background, and his coat was around her shoulders.

In the corner was a message.

_Stay strong. I'll be back soon. I love you, Peter_

And even though on the outside she was a wreck, a tiny spark of hope lit itself in Katie's heart.

He would be back.

She trusted him.


	2. Four Months Later

**Chapter 1: Four Months Later**

_**4 months later**_

Katie had developed a strange relationship with Nathan Petrelli. It wasn't a friendship, not really, because neither one said two words to the other. It was more of an understanding, a need to just _be _with someone who understood.

And Katie couldn't think of anyone who understood the loss of Peter more than his brother.

After the events at Kirby Plaza, Katie was a mere shadow of her former self, slipping into the depression she once had after Chloe's death. Although this, if possible, was worse. She hardly ate, never slept, and had no one to talk to. Claire, the only person besides Peter she had ever really gotten close to, had moved into hiding.

She had almost forgotten what his face looked like, were his eyes green? Blue? She was just about certain they were brown, but she really didn't know. It was almost too hard to try and picture him in her mind, the memories that came crashing into her too powerful.

But while her thoughts and emotions were tumbling about in her head like a hurricane, there _was _one constant in her life at the moment.

Kirby Plaza.

Every day at 6am, Katie rolled out of bed and made the journey to Kirby Plaza. It wasn't for the fresh air or the quiet, although that did help, rather it was for the tiny hope that Katie held within her heart. That Peter would come back.

He was her hero after all, and if ever there was a time she needed saving it was now.

For a week she sat alone, breathing in through her nose and watching the sun rise, trying not to let her caged tears fall.

And then one day, someone joined her.

He was a little hard to identify, what with the new facial hair and all, but Katie knew from the look in his eyes who it was, a look that desperate could hardly belong to just anyone.

_"__Nathan?" she murmured, glancing up at the man beside her. A far cry from the proud politician she once knew, this man was ragged, clothes thrown on haphazardly and a scraggly beard beginning to grow on his jaw._

_He didn't say a word, but sat next to her silently._

_Katie understood, he needed this hope as much as she did._

And so they sat there together, every morning for 4 months, eyes scanning the skies for a flying man.

Once she plucked up the courage and asked him if he missed Peter.

_"__Of course I do." He whispered, clenching his fists. Katie hadn't heard him speak in what seemed like forever, but she didn't remember his voice being so raspy before._

_"__Me too." She replied, reaching over and grabbing his hand in hers._

_Nathan's eyes widened slightly and he made as if to pull away, but then stopped, and returned the gesture with a tight squeeze. _

_They sat like that, hands intertwined, eyes ever glued to the lightening sky, until the city began to wake from its slumber, at which point they left each other's company, each feeling a little better than they had the day before._

_He joined her every day after that one._

Katie was humming quietly under her breath when Nathan ambled over to their preferred spot by the fountain and plopped down next to her.

"You look like shit." She intoned seriously, seeing the deep circles and bloodshot eyes.

He chuckled, rubbing his beard between his hand, "I guess I do."

Nathan sighed deeply and rolled his neck. Usually that was the end of their conversations, but today Nathan had something else in mind.

"Katie, I think this is the last time I'll come here."

She was surprised, her features showing it plainly on her face. She turned her body around to face him completely, "Why?" she asked, tone on the brink of being accusatory.

Nathan couldn't leave her; these moments were the only time she really felt at peace. Katie could feel herself beginning to panic, tears welling in her eyes.

"You can't just-"

"I have to," Nathan interrupted, "_we _have to."

"We most certainly do not!" Katie snapped, crossing her arms to prevent herself from strangling the man.

Nathan placed his hands gently on her shoulders, "Peter would have wanted us to move on." He said carefully, watching Katie closely.

"How do you know? Peter's not here! He's dead Nathan!" She shrieked the last few words hysterically, clenching her nails into her sides painfully.

A moment of silence followed, Nathan looked uncertain, mulling over his next few words carefully.

"I know Katie. But we need to start living again; wallowing in this misery is doing us no good."

She couldn't help but see the truth in his words, no matter how badly she wanted to repress those thoughts.

"I just don't want to say goodbye." She whispered, eyes closing for a moment.

"Me neither, but-"

"Yeah yeah, we _have to." _She grumbled in anger, before heaving a giant sigh and standing up.

"You go on then; I have one last thing I need to do."

Nathan nodded, but hesitated before turning to leave, "Katie, I don't know if we'll see each other again, we probably won't. So I just wanted to say…thank you. For helping me through," he swept his arms around him wide, "y'know, all this."

Katie grinned, "I didn't do much, but you're welcome anyways."

She paused, contemplating something, "Should we hug?"

Nathan looked apprehensive, shaking his head slowly, "I'm not really one-"

"Too bad!" she cried, throwing herself into his arms, and squeezing him tight.

He was stunned, but slowly patted her back gently, a small smile gracing his lips.

Katie let go, "Well, goodbye Nathan Petrelli. I'll see you around."

"Likewise," he said, smiling again before leaving.

Katie was alone in Kirby Plaza for the first time in a while, and the stillness was unexpected. Nevertheless she walked with purpose over to the fountain, reaching into the pocket of her jeans.

Out came a crumpled piece of paper, well-loved and corners creased. It was the drawing Peter had in his pocket the night he left, the one with his message.

"I wish you were here to tell me what to do," she sighed, "I wish you were here to say anything actually, I miss your voice. I miss your hair. I miss the way you'd smile, and how you thought The Rolling Stones were better than the Beatles. I miss your stupid little knock knock jokes, and your amazing ability to make everything better." Katie stopped herself before she became too enraptured with walking down memory lane, eyes hardening with steely determination.

She glanced at the drawing one more time, before dropping it with purpose into the clear water.

"I won't forget you Peter, but I have to move on."

And as she turned away, Katie lost that small hope that Peter would come back, and her heart felt heavy.

But as they say, fate has a way of bringing people together, and boy did fate have something in store for Katie.


	3. A New Job

**Chapter Two: A New Job**

The first step to getting her life back on track was getting a job, Katie had quit hers when Peter died, and although she didn't necessarily need the money, the stability and respectful atmosphere of a workplace would help her focus her energy on doing something productive. With a degree in childcare and a minor in nursing, however, jobs weren't all that easy to find. So when Katie finally got called in for an interview she was over the moon, even going so far as to pull out her dress pants and Mary Jane's, things which hadn't seen the light of day in god know how long.

Her interview had been surprisingly quick and easy, the man who interviewed her, Bob, maintained a friendly and polite disposition, although he did ask some rather odd questions.

"_Tell me Ms. Ritch; are you familiar with the works of Dr. Suresh?"_

"_I'm afraid not," Katie replied, mentally smacking herself, wondering if this meant the end to the interview._

_Bob sat back in his chair, arms folded casually, "Well it's no matter, but I must say it's a fascinating read. Another topic then shall we? Do you have any…strange talents that could lend themselves to the company?"_

_Thrown aback by the sudden change in subject, Katie took some time to form her words, "I can touch my toes to my head?" she offered, although something told her that wasn't the type of answer he was looking for._

_Bob chuckled, but waved his hand dismissively, "I'm sure we'll find your, shall we say ability, in due time." _

_He stood, and offered her a handshake, "Well I know it's early Ms. Ritch, but I am happy to tell you that you have been the most promising candidate so far, and that the job is yours if you want it."_

_Katie knew gaping like a fish wasn't a good look on her, but she couldn't help doing it as his words sunk in, and when they did a giant smile spread across her face._

"_I take that as a yes, you start Monday, 8am sharp."_

Katie had meticulously picked out her clothes, and styled her hair into a neat bun, "Outward perfection leads to inner perfection." She chanted while walking, confidently she hoped, up to Bob's office. It was her first day of work, and she would hate to be fired before she even got to do anything. She rapped twice with her knuckles before a voice called her in.

"Ah, Katie, may I call you Katie? It is good to see you again." Her new employer smiled at her warmly

"Likewise sir," she responded clutching her black purse nervously.

"Now, we have pressing matter for you to attend to, a sick little girl who was just brought in, and she would surely benefit from your help."

"I'll…do my best," she replied, not wanting him to see her insecurities. Little kids didn't tend to like her very much, or not at all actually.

"I'm sure you will," Bob replied, snapping shut his briefcase, "I must leave, but there is another doctor assigned to your patient if you have any questions. Have a nice day Katie." And with that he exited the room, but not before handing her a file, which read 'Walker, Molly' on the front.

Katie opened it and pulled out her file, skimming over it quickly.

_Mental trauma has caused a self-made coma…._

_Parents are dead…_

_Care of Mohinder Suresh and Matt Parkman…_

She sighed and snapped it shut, 'Well, at least she won't get a chance to hate me,' she thought grimly, before making her way to what the file said was her room.

Pushing it open, Katie was greeted with a very tender sight. A man, large build and stubbled, was clutching a young, unconscious girl's hand tightly, whispering to her, while tears rolled silently down his face. Opposite him was an Indian man who, like her, wore a white doctor's coat. He seemed more collected than the other, but Katie could see the tightly coiled string of emotions ready to snap at any moment.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm interrupting I'll just-" she was cut off as the crying man stood, wiping his cheeks with the back of his hand.

"No, no it's fine. I was finishing up anyways." He grunted,

Katie was unsure of what to say, so she opted for something simple. "I'm Katie, I've been assigned as nurse for uh…" she flicked her file back open, "Molly Walker. Is this her?"

"Yes it is," piped up the Indian man suddenly. He was staring at Katie, as if assessing her competence.

"I am Mohinder, and this is Matt. We are her guardians; as well, I am one of her doctor."

'Gay dads?' Katie thought immediately, head tilting curiously.

"No!" exclaimed the man, Matt, ears a light pink. "I mean, we're not gay. Or her dads. If that's what you're thinking." He said it embarrassed, and Katie laughed.

"Oh, I wasn't thinking anything like that," she shooed the man's accusations away.

She thought she heard something along the lines of "Yes you were," from Matt, but Katie ignored it as she turned her attention to Mohinder.

"Either way, rest assured that she will be in good hands with me, neither of you have anything to worry about." She directed this statement to Mohinder, who was still looking at her distrustfully. She shuffled about awkwardly, before remembering the file she held in her hand.

"I'm just going to read over these files, you can finish up your…goodbye or talk or whatever you were doing. Don't mind me." With that Katie settled comfortably into the armchair in the corner, immersing herself in the medical history of Molly Walker.

By the time she finished, both men were gone, and an uncomfortable crick had made its way into Katie's neck. Rubbing it slightly she looked at her watch, which told her it was time for lunch. Grabbing her purse from beside her, which contained the tuna sandwich she had made that morning, Katie called in another nurse to watch Molly was she was gone. Heading to the elevator, Katie realized she had _no _idea where the cafeteria was.

"If they even _have _a cafeteria," she mumbled, glancing around in hopes of finding a map.

"They do," said a voice from behind her. She whirled around and saw that it was Mohinder.

Smiling sweetly, she answered "Great!" her spirits lifted.

"Oh but," her shoulders sunk, "I still don't know where it is." Tummy rumbling in anticipation, she glanced at Mohinder in, what she thought, was a perfect puppy dog face.

"Would you mind showing me where it is? This building is really huge and I just know I'm going to get lost." Thinking he was going to turn her away and leave her standing in the middle of the hallway, Katie was surprised when he cracked a slight smile and ushered her to the left.

"I'm on my way there, come on I'll show you."

Internally grinning, Katie held an almost spring in her step as she followed the Indian man.

She tried to make conversation, really she did. After all she needed to have some work friends, but it appeared Mohinder wasn't all that sociable. It was as if something heavy weighed on his mind, which wouldn't allow him to think of anything else, not even when Katie tried to do her Donald Duck impressions. But, he _did _have a very sick little girl in a hospital bed, so Katie supposed he deserved to be a little glum.

Lunch was slow and painful; nothing was said between the two, although Katie did offer him a bite of her sandwich when she saw that he wasn't eaten.

"I'm fine." was his curt reply. Then suddenly he stood up, "I need to get back to work," he mumbled, before exiting and leaving Katie by herself.

"Well then," she huffed, throwing out her trash, making her way back to Molly's room.

Unfortunately for Katie, she couldn't remember the way. But although she ended up in different bathrooms a couple times, she eventually found the right door.

'Peter would never get lost, she thought solemnly, remembering her friend.

"_Katie, you've been living in New York how long?" Peter asked, opening up an umbrella._

"_All my life," Katie replied, standing under it to escape the pouring rain._

"_And how do you still not know how to get to the museum? It's a pretty easy place to find, heck even the tourists can do it!" he exclaimed, gesturing at a clump of Asians, all sporting 'I 3 NYC' shirts._

"_I'm sorry Mr. Never-Gets-Lost. Some people aren't walking, talking compasses!" she retorted, splashing in a puddle while crossing the street._

_Peter laughed, jumping out of the way, "Hey watch it!"_

"_Sorry, I forgot you were the Wicked Witch and couldn't get wet either." She smirked, splashing him once again._

"_I'm melting! I'm melting!" Peter groaned, covering his face with his hands, and acting like he was dying._

"_Oh suck it up," Katie giggled, watching Peter with mirth in her eyes._

_His hair was dripping by the time they finally reached the museum, and the shirt he wore clung to his frame, much to Katie's delight. She cleared her throat, trying to regain her senses, and folded up the umbrella._

"_I love this umbrella, it's so…red." Katie observed, handing it back to Peter, who looked at her strangely._

"_Nice description there Katie," he replied. When Katie opened her mouth to retort, he took her hand in his, and said quietly, "I love it too."_

_The pair smiled at each other, immersed in their own little world._

Katie quickly shook herself out of her thoughts. This was why she got a job in the first place, to take her mind off of Peter. So she settled down at the desk, opened her notebook and started to do something productive.

"All done!" Katie cried in delight, finishing up her work for the day, stretching her arms high over her head.

"I guess I'd bettersay goodnight to Bob before I leave. Now, where's his office?" Katie used to herself, packing up her notebook and coffee cup. Meandering down the halls, she asked someone for directions, to which they kindly told her she was going the wrong way.

"Crap," she grumbled, making a 180 and going the other direction.

After what seemed like hours, but was really only 10 minutes, Katie found the familiar oak door. Two voices could be heard from the inside, the deeper one sounding strangely familiar.

"Huh, it sounds like Nathan." Katie said to herself, before shrugging her shoulder and opening the door, knowing that Nathan was probably off on vacation in Hawaii or something. As she entered slowly, she caught on to the last bit of Bob's conversation with his guest, who's back was turned.

"He's alive. Peter is alive."

Gasping in shock, Katie felt her knees buckle. 'He couldn't mean…?'

But when the stranger turned, Katie had no doubt.

It was Nathan, who looked equally as shocked as the news as he was at her presence.

"Katie?" he asked, stepping towards her.

"Nathan, what's going on? Why are you here? Peter?" through all her questions, her belongings fell to the ground, spilling all over.

"It's true Ms. Ritch. Peter Petrelli is indeed alive. I'm sure you're just as happy about this news as Nathan here."

Katie reached over to Nathan and grabbed his arm, using it for support and as a stress ball. She had so many questions racing around in her head, and she could tell Nathan did as well, but the only thing she could force past her lips was, "I think I need to pee."

**A./N.**

**Thanks for reading guys it means a lot to me :) Shoot me a review with questions/concerns/encouragement and I'll give you a Peter-shaped cookie.**


	4. Something Strange

**Chapter Three: Something Strange**

After emptying her bladder and returning to Bob's office, Katie sheepishly asked Bob and Nathan to explain what the hell was going on.

They only stared at her, apparently amused by her lack of bladder control before Bob began a long tirade, to which Katie only really paid attention when he began to speak about Peter.

"So, he's alive then?" she asked, glaring at her boss in distrust, she couldn't really afford to get her hopes up only to have them crushed again.

"Yes, however we are uncertain as to his whereabouts at present."

Nathan leapt out of his chair angrily, "What? How do you just lose a person! Something could have happened to him!"

"Mr. Petrelli, I can assure you that Peter has the means to properly take care of himself, and he will find his way back to us in due time. Right now there are more pressing matters to attend to."

He ushered Nathan over to look at a photo while Katie mulled things over in her head. The notion of 'I'll believe it when I see it' popped into mind, and she really did want to see Peter. Katie sighed, glancing quickly out the window, the hushed voices of the two men creating background noise. It was raining, tiny droplets rolling off the ornate outdoor molding and splashing onto the freshly mowed grass.

"_I swear every time we decide to go out its raining." Katie complained, throwing up Peter's red umbrella, glaring at the grey sky._

_Peter chuckled, slipping on his trench coat, "Eh, I don't mind the rain. Helps me relax."_

_Katie quirked an eyebrow, "Oh, so you wouldn't mind if I did…this?!" with those words she sprinted away with Peters umbrella, out of the shelter of the movie theaters overhang._

"_Katie!" he called, ruffling his brown hair with one hand, waving at her with the other._

"_Get back here!"_

_Katie grinned, "Now, now, that's not how you treat someone you want something from!" she shouted back, eyes lighting up, "You'll have to ask nicely."_

_Peter sighed melodramatically, before dropping to one knee, "Oh please, Princess Katie of New York, grace me with the honour of standing under the umbrella with you as my beautiful companion!" he uttered dramatically, enticing rolling laughter from his friend._

"_You could have a career in drama Peter!" she told him, walking back over. "Come on," she tugged lightly on his arm, pulling him under with her. They had to stand close so they could both fit, chests touching, and toes brushing together._

"_You really need a haircut Peter," Katie observed, brushing back his bangs softly. He suddenly captured her hand with his, staring into her brown eyes gently._

"_Do I have something on my face?" she asked, beginning to worry over Peter's lack of speech. Closing the small distance between the two, Peter leaned down, and captured Katie's lips with his own. It was soft; Peters chapped lips rubbing against Katie's, hands still held together. He pulled back, eyes closed, before smiling slightly, and chuckling under his breath._

"_What's so funny?" Katie breathed out, glancing upwards at him._

"_Just wondering how I got so lucky."_

"Earth to Katie! Hello?"

Jerking abruptly from her thoughts, Katie looked around her. She was in Bob's office, Nathan beside her with worried eyes.

"Are you okay? You were staring off with a goofy smile on your face?"

"Oh, no I'm fine." She mumbled embarrassed, before clearing her throat loudly.

"So, what is our plan of action?" she asked, looking between Bob and Nathan. "I may have spaced out, but I heard enough about some mind reader to know we're in trouble."

Bob reached for something in his desk, bringing out a manila folder, "Well, first we-"

He was cut off as the door got bashed in, followed by a _very _irate looking blonde, holding two needles in her hand.

"Nikki!" Nathan shouted in surprise, stepping in front of Bob protectively.

"Move Nathan!" she screamed, running forwards, needles at the ready. "He killed DL! He needs to pay!" Katie was seriously concerned for her friend, who at the moment was beginning to panic.

"Think of your son Nikki! Think of Micah!" this seemed to calm her down somewhat, but she apparently couldn't be deterred from her original mission, to stab Bob with whatever was in the scary looking needles.

The woman pushed Nathan aside as if he weighed 5 pounds, and once again stalked towards Bob, who was managing a calm physique by some amazing talent.

"This is for my family!" she roared, swinging the syringe up high.

She never hit her intended target however, as another body moved in the way.

"Ow, shit." Katie groaned, stumbling slightly from the impact the needle delivered in her shoulder. Katie's vision began to blur slightly around the edges, and a curious numbness had started to spread through her legs. She could see Nathan getting up, trying to wrestle the remaining weapon from Nikki, before the woman plunged it into her own arm. Katie slowly sunk to the ground, holding her head in her hands. What the hell was in that needle? Bob walked over to her, putting his hand on her forehead gently, taking her pulse with his other.

"Nathan," he barked, motioning the man over, who, once he processed exactly what happened to the other needle, paled considerably.

"Oh my god, Katie. Why-?" he began, running his dirty hand through his disheveled hair.

"Can't let you be the hero all the time," she whispered, head rolling slightly.

"I can't feel my fingers," she observed quietly, holding them close to her eyes.

"Bob, those needles. They're supposed to repress powers. Katie hasn't got any, so what the hell is happening to her?" he snapped, torn between killing Nikki or helping Katie. Bob sat back on his heels, pulling out his cell phone.

"I…don't know." He replied, before speaking into his mobile, calling for two stretchers, one for each woman currently lying almost motionless on his floor.

"Shit, Katie," he breathed, as she began to sweat profusely.

"What's going on Nathan? I can't-" her eyes then went large, before rolling back into her head, and she fell limp into her friend's arm.

The next few hours were filled with confused shouts, running and a lot of pain. Nikki seemed to be coping with the virus better than Katie, who had yet to wake up, but was thrashing violently in the hospital bed.

"Peter!" she screamed, over and over until her voice was hoarse and raw. Nathan never left her side, although many different nurses and doctors came rushing by. Even Bob stopped in, although his main concern lied within the Adam Monroe situation.

_Wherever she was, it was dark. Katie held her hands up in front of her face, but couldn't even see the bright blue nail polish she wore._

'_Hello?' she called out, stumbling through the black, until she collided with a wall. Groping for the light switch, Katie listened hard, but heard nothing except for the faint drip of water._

'_Gotcha' she breathed, flicking on the light._

_She was in some sort of warehouse, boxes of every shape and size were stacked up on each other, each bearing destinations, 'Paris', 'Madagascar', and a giant one, with the word 'New York' stamped on the front. Something about it drew Katie forwards, and as she pressed her hand against the rough surface it collapsed, leaving its content spilled on the floor. It was something human. It shivered and clutched itself tightly into a ball, the only clothing a pair of loose, black sweats._

'_Hey, it's alright-' Katie made her way over to the body, gripping its shoulder and turning it to face her. The mess of charred flesh intertwined with newly formed cuts sent her flying backwards, gasping in shock._

'_Help me.' It groaned, clutching at its bruised stomach with swelled up fingers._

'_I can't—what happened to you! Who are you!' she shouted in fright, trying to put distance between herself and the mutilated person before her,_

'_It's your fault.' It said quietly, standing up on shaky legs. 'You abandoned me. I needed you Katie,'_

'_How do you know my name!' she shrieked_

_The monstrous man paused, coking its head to the left slightly._

'_It's me. Peter.'_

_She screamed bloody murder and ran._

Eyes flicking open, Katie sat upright, the stiff hospital sheets constricted her attempt to flee. She was being gripped by steady hands, and whispered to by a soft voice, but Katie couldn't focus on any of it. People in white uniforms came running in, one held a needle, which sent Katie into a more hysterical panic.

"Peter!" she cried, clamping down on the nurses arm to stop her from administering what was no doubt a sedative. The nurse's eyes went wide, before she screamed and forced herself away from her patient, holding her arm. Nathan took the opportunity to shake some sense into Katie, literally.

"Snap out of it! It was only a dream!" his voice finally got through, and Katie stopped struggling. Tears in her eyes, she sobbed into Nathans chest, her hands clenched together against her stomach, while he pet her hair.

They both shot away from each other as the nurse, the one who had tried to drug Katie into sleep, stood uncertainly, before whipping out a pager.

"What are you doing?" Katie asked quietly in her direction, but received no answer.

Bob then came hurtling into her room, out of breath and holding his customary manila folder.

"What is it?" he asked, directing his question towards the nurse, who whispered something back that neither Katie nor Nathan could quite catch.

Bob grunted in understanding, dismissing the nurse and approaching Katie.

"It seems Ms. Ritch, that the virus had some…unforeseen consequence on you."

Katie furrowed her brows, "But I feel fine." It was true, her bones didn't hurt, and she had no headache. Aside from the scary-ass dream and panicked awakening, Katie actually never felt better.

"Yes, that's great. This problem is of a different nature. Ms. Ritch, could you please touch Mr. Petrelli, with your hands if you would?"

"Um, alright." She answered, not seeing where her boss was going with his little experiment. Lifting her ring finger, Katie placed it gently against Nathan's forehead.

She didn't expect him to keel over, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Ahhh!" he yelled in pain, veins glaring up at her angrily on his neck. Katie yanked her finger away from his head, before staring in horror at Bob, who simply nodded.

"As I thought," he mumbled, although it seemed to be more for himself, "It would seem that you have gained something, while Nikki has lost something."

"You mean I have a-" Katie started, wanting to hug Nathan but refraining from doing so, "I did that to him? My…touch did that to him?"

"Yes." was Bob's simple reply, once again pulling out a phone and mashing a few buttons.

"Hurt like hell too," Nathan chuckled, although Katie didn't find it funny in the least.

"I'm so sorry!" she blubbered, sitting away from him and clasping her hands tightly to her chest.

Bob spoke up, "Dr. Suresh is on his way. You two are already acquainted I understand. He will help you figure out this ability you seem to have been given." He turned to go, leaving Katie extremely confused, and Nathan still slightly in pain.

"I would refrain from touching anyone until then Ms. Ritch; we wouldn't want any accidents now."

Aghast, Katie stared at the wall of her room in shock, scared out of her wits. She sighed deeply, "So this is the reward I get for trying to play hero." She mumbled, "Maybe next time I'll just leave it to the professionals."

**A./N. Thanks again for reading guys :3 **

**Now, what will happen to poor Katie Ritch? Will Peter ever make an appearance? Do reindeer really know how to fly?**


	5. Confinement

**As ****requested haha. I am very thankful for the reviews and follows guys :) cheers and Peter cookies to all!**

**This chapter we get to look at the mysterious power some more as well as the introduction of one of my all-time favourite characters :) And yes, I did make up the bit about the Shanti Virus...but it makes sense in my mind so please disregard any discrepancies you find :)**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter Four: Confinement**

Katie had often spoken with Peter about what she would chose to have for a power, if she had one. Flight, Invisibility, and the ability to find shoes in exactly her size. She never wanted an ability that would hurt people, what use would she have for that

So when Katie found out that she had gained the power to do exactly that, hurt people as easily as touching them, she scoffed in Dr. Suresh's face, certain he was joking.

"I am very serious Katie, this power of yours is extremely deadly, and as of right now you have no idea how to control it." The man regarded her with narrowed eyes, and then shook his head slowly, "If it is possible to be controlled that is."

"What!" Katie blanched, there was no way she was living the rest of her life without touching another person, it just wasn't happening.

"I don't understand, why do I even have this in the first place? Wasn't that virus supposed to _take away _powers, not give them!" she was frustrated, not that it was the doctor's fault, but as he happened to be the only person around, her anger was being taken out on him.

"There's actually an explanation for that one," he began, ushering her over to his high-tech computer, whirling away quietly.

He had been sitting behind it for the past 2 hours, tossing questions at Katie left and right, making her show him her ability over and over again, all in an effort to understand it.

So far all they knew was that she caused immense pain to whoever she touched. She couldn't control when it happened, or the degree of damage given, but she could cause death; they had brutally realized that when the rat they were experimenting on collapsed, nose bleeding and eyes white in terror.

Katie had cried, not over the dead rat, but rather because she knew that this could happen to someone she loved, and she couldn't stop it.

"See this cell?" Mohinder asked, pointing to something on-screen.

"Yeah," she replied, tilting her head to get a better look.

"This is one of your old cells; it carries the genetic material present in everyone who has abilities."

"But, this is the first time mine have exposed themselves, wouldn't I have seen them before?"

"No, look closely at this," he said, zooming in the picture, "This little line is a barrier of sorts; it was protecting your special genes from entering the blood, basically hiding it from your body."

He paused, letting the information sink in, continuing when Katie sent him a confused look.

"So…"

"So when the Shanti virus entered your blood, it targeted the protective layer, stripping it from your body and leaving your ability free to manifest itself."

She ran her hand through her brown hair; the curls she had painstakingly created that morning were all but gone, leaving a frizzy mess in their wake. Tying it up with the elastic around her wrist, Katie sighed.

"So, what do we do now?" she asked, hoping Mohinder knew, because she sure didn't.

"Actually, I have to go away for…business. But when I get back I will be able to work with you on controlling this power, until then though…" he dug through his bag (Katie had first thought it was a purse, to which the doctor had replied a harsh: _"It's not a purse it's a satchel. Indiana Jones has one.")_and produced a pair of brown leather gloves. "I recommend wearing these; as long as your hands are covered you'll be okay."

"Well, this works until the weather gets warm, after that there's no way I'm wearing these." She replied, pulling them on carefully.

"You will if you don't want to kill someone." Mohinder said sharply, gathering his things.

She grumbled and crossed her arms, the leather gloves squeaking slightly, but knew he was right.

"I'll see you when I get back Katie," he said, opening the door to the testing room they had been in.

"Oh, hello Bob." He said to the figure standing in the door before excusing himself and proceeding on his way.

Katie waved to her employer, but all she got was a terse stare in return. Her hand dropped to her side dejectedly.

"Well , it appears you have become somewhat dangerous."

"What –no I haven't. Look, gave me these neat gloves so I wouldn't hurt anyone." She was wary, Bob looked even more serious than usually, and he was holding something tightly behind his back that Katie couldn't see.

"That may be, but you are still a threat, and so I'll have to ask you to come with me."

"Where?" she replied hesitantly, backing up from the man until she bumped against the wall.

"Confinement. Just until we can fully understand your power, and you can learn to control it." As he was speaking he was inching towards the frightened girl against the wall, and he now stood but 3 feet from her.

"I'm sure there's really no need for that!" she exclaimed, looking desperately for an escape, there was no way they were locking her up like some sort of villain!

"I am sorry." He intoned, before pulling out a hidden Taser.

She groaned as the little electrode sent shockwaves through her body, her head hit the cold floor and her vision blackened. Her last thought was _"This isn't worth the money" _before she knew no more.

#

Confinement, it turned out, was _very _quiet. She hadn't heard a noise or seen a soul since she woke up, although someone had changed her clothes and removed her shoes. She was now wearing loose gray sweats and a black t-shirt, which was a _little _too tight for her liking.

Her room, if you could call it that, consisted of a bed, which had a thin mattress and an even thinner blanket, a mirror, sink and a small table. A copy of the book 'Gone with the Wind' was also in the room, probably to keep her entertained, but Katie had read that book more times than she could count, and wasn't in the mood for any angst or drama right now. What she wanted to read was Amelia Bedelia, a funny little book she once owned as a child.

Everything was grey, and drab, and quiet.

It was the silence that was really getting to her, and so, after she stopped pounding on the door and begging for her release, she started to sing.

"All day staring at the ceiling making friends with shadows on my wall. All night, hearing voices telling me that I should get some sleep because tomorrow might be good for something." She had started humming quietly, but after a few verses she was practically shouting at the dust bunnies.

"I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell! I know, right now you can't tell. But stay a while and maybe then you'll see a different side of me!"

Katie wasn't all that great of a singer, but since there was no one around to hear her she belted out the Matchbox Twenty song as loud as she was able. By the time she finished her voice had gone hoarse, and she was panting with exhaustion.

She could suddenly hear a slow clap from behind her door, which became louder and faster as the metal thing opened.

"Brava!" commented the person standing in her doorway, giggling to herself.

Katie blushed; she had really believed she was alone, cast into the dungeon of some forbidden castle to rot until the rest of eternity.

A blond woman stepped into the light, a broad grin gracing her plump lips. "Do another one, do you take requests?" she flounced in on stiletto clad feet, and sat on the bed next to Katie, who was glancing at her wearily.

"Who the hell are you?" she deadpanned, scooting to the other side of the mattress.

"I'm Elle!" she replied, holding out her hand for Katie to shake.

"Katie." She said, grasping the other woman's appendage.

There was a blast of blue light, and Katie felt electricity raced up her arm before she yanked her fingers back, grimacing in pain.

Elle giggled again, holding her palm up, where a small ball of blue lighting was rotating slowly.

"What do you want?" Katie bit back roughly, very angry at her uninvited guest.

"Oh, nothing really. I'm just boooored." She drew out the last word annoyingly, picking at invisible dirt under her perfectly manicured fingernails.

"Well that's too damn bad. Either let me out of here or go bother someone else." Harsh, she knew, but if Katie had to be locked up like a prisoner, she refused to have to deal with some psychotic woman at the same time.

Elle pouted, but stood up anyways, "Aw, that's too bad. You know when Peter was here he found ways to entertain me."

Katie felt her eyes widen at the mention of Peter, and she all but pounced on the blond in excitement.

"He was here!? Where is he now? Is he okay? Tell me!"

Elle held up her hands in mock defense, "Whoa, slow down there. You're going to be in here a long time, you don't want me to tell you everything right now. You'll get bored later."

Katie growled, grabbing hold of Elle's arm tightly. "I want to know."

"Sorry," Elle smirked at her, "I don't kiss and tell."

Before she knew it Katie had leapt up from her perch and had tackled the blond around the middle. They both went down; Katie aiming a well-placed punch to Elle's cheek. The element of surprise wore off soon however, and Elle was just as quick to rake her nails down Katie's cheek, drawing blood, before she kicked Katie off.

Elle conjured up her little ball of electricity, and Katie would have been one fried person if she hadn't jumped out of the way.

"He was a good kisser too!" she exclaimed, bashing Katie against the concrete wall, where she began to see stars.

Elle then wrapped her dainty hands around Katie's neck and gave a tight squeeze, a dark look on her face mixing with one of delight.

Not knowing what else to do, Katie quietly slipped off her glove, and sent a swift prayer to the big guy to forgive her for what she was about to do.

Her hand clamped down over Elle's arm, and the woman instantly let go, screaming in pain. Katie didn't let go until the woman begged for mercy, and when that happened Katie gasped, and ran to the other corner of the room.

Shakily picking herself up, Elle glared at the brunette one more time.

"You'll regret that," she spat out, words dripping with acid, before she stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her.

A quiet click of a lock and Katie was alone with her thoughts again.

'I can't believe I did that.' She thought desperately, hastily stuffing her hand back into the leather glove. 'I willfully hurt another human being.'

'She deserved it.' A dark corner of her mind whispered gleefully, before Katie shook her head in denial.

"No!" she said out loud,

She cried herself to sleep that night, dreams of Elle and Peter together haunting her mind.

**A./N.**

**There we have it! Some Mohinder , Elle, powers... It's not the last you'll see of any of them!**

**Questions/Comments/Concerns?  
Next Time:An escape attempt + a loveable goof appears! who could it be?**


	6. Rescue

**Happy Tuesday everyone :)**

**Some action at the end of this chapter to spice things up a bit! Also if anyone is keeping track of what episode we are on then you'll be privvy to an interesting plot detail concerning a certain empathic hottie.  
R&R!**

**Chapter Five: Rescue**

For the first time in a while, Katie was given the chance to reflect on her life. She didn't normally like to do that, why dredge up the past, when all you got was an armful of regrets and 'what ifs'? But, being held captive in a cell with no windows did tend to grow tiring, and when Katie had sung her way through every song she knew, all she had left to keep her company were her thoughts.

'I wonder where mom and dad are right now?' she thought; she hadn't really spoke to her parents since she graduated medical school. It's not like they had had a falling out, but rather they simply faded away into the background of Katie's life. On the days they _did _plan a get-together, she always had to cancel last minute, never for good reasons though.

Her mother was a school teacher, junior kindergarten, at some hoity-toity private school that seemed to breed snobs. Not that her mother was one, she was the nicest person Katie had ever met, and she made the absolute best chocolate chip cookies to boot.

Her father was a mechanic, and he always came home covered head-to-toe with engine grease and god knows what else. When she was younger, the first thing he'd do when he got home was to rush up and hug Katie, smothering her in kisses and laughing at her protests to "Get off of me you slob, you're all dirty!".

She missed them, but seriously doubted she would ever get the chance to see them again.

Her entire existence had been boiled down to waiting for Mohinder to come back, because when he did they could train her ability, and she could get the hell out of her cell.

A knock sounded on her door, opening before she had the chance to call out a 'Come in!'

"Well then," she spoke quietly, "speak of the devil and he shall appear." Mohinder regarded her with a small smile, putting down his man-purse and waving hello.

"I would shake your hand but…"

Katie rolled her eyes, "How was your business trip?" she asked, folding her hands behind her head and lying comfortably on her bed.

"Eventful." He muttered dryly, Katie thought he seemed rather mad at something. "But it did illuminate some things for me, regarding your power that is."

"Oh?" she was excited, wanting to get the process started as quickly as possible.

"Yes, although you probably won't like it."

Katie narrowed her eyes at the man, "What do you mean?"

He ignored her question, opting for: "Just remember, you are the master of your power. All you have to do is clear your mind and focus on drawing the energy back into your body. Are you ready?"

"Yes, but I still-" she didn't get to finish as the doctor yanked her wrist forwards and forcibly held it onto his chest. Her eyes widened, what was he doing?! His shouts of pain were so incredibly loud that for a moment Katie thought she might have gone deaf.

"Stop!" she screeched, trying to wrestle her hand from his grip. It only made him hold on tighter though, and Katie began to panic.

"You're going to kill yourself! Let go!" she pleaded, looking at Mohinder in exasperation.

"N-no." he breathed out. "You can…do this! Control your power!" the words were shot out of gritted teeth as his veins started to pop out of his neck.

Body shaking, Katie closed her eyes, trying to image a blank canvas in front of her. But her canvas kept being filled with horrible pictures, people dying, fires racing through occupied houses, monsters tearing people limb from limb.

"It's not working!" she cried out, trying again to regain her hand, but although Mohinder seemed about ready to pass out, he wouldn't let go.

So Katie tried a different tactic. Instead of a canvas, she imagined a person. Someone she hadn't seen in a very long time, but whose face remained crystal clear in her memory. The luscious hair, complete with adorable bangs. The chapped lips, one side turned up more than the other. The eyes, framed with thick lashes.

She concentrated on putting every aspect of Peter together like a puzzle, and, although she didn't notice this, as he became more and more complete, the pain Mohinder was feeling lessened and lessened, until it stopped altogether.

Katie was just putting his favourite trench coat on Peter when she felt a clap on her shoulder and her eyes opened.

The doctor was sweating buckets, and his hair was very chaotic, but he was smiling.

"You did it." He said, which prompted a huge grin and a bone crushing hug from the girl.

The next few days were spent working with the doctor, and Katie could feel her power transforming to one she could easily call up on command, although there were still times when it reacted without her wanting it to.

Soon Mohinder had to leave, but Katie was certain she had mastered her ability enough to be let free in a few days.

Then Elle came to visit, forcibly popping Katie's bubble of hope.

"What happened to your arm? Lose another fight?" Katie snickered, glancing at the newcomer in her room.

The blond glared, rubbing her limb in pain.

"You think you're so funny, don't you?"

"A little yeah," Katie replied, sending a mocking smile in Elle's direction.

"Well I hope your humour keeps you warm at night, because you're going to be in this cell all by yourself for a very long time!" she hissed, throwing open the door to leave.

"Wait!" Katie yelped, "What are you talking about? As soon as I master my abilities Bob's going to let me out!"

Elle laughed harshly, "You think that man ever thinks of anyone but himself? He doesn't give a crap if you rot in here, all he cares about is that you are an experiment, and he wants to see how far you're power can go. Once he's found that out he has no use for you, and you'll just be kept down here so that you won't o meddling in business that isn't yours to get into."

"You're lying." Katie spoke, gripping her mattress in anger.

"Why would I lie?" and then she left, door slamming shut behind her.

So Katie sat in her cell, night after night, hoping for Bob to come in and tell her she could leave, but the few times she did see the man, he always said the same thing. "Just a little bit longer ."

It was so very aggravating to know that Elle was right.

#

In the end she didn't so much get let out as she did escape. Not that she escaped alone.

She had been planning it for a while, and when the person who came in to drop off her food, a nervous boy who didn't look out of his teenage years, came by, she set it in motion.

Her previous medical training had made it easy to fake a seizure and one look at her and the boy ran out the room to get help, conveniently leaving the door ajar as he did so.

"Bingo!" she whispered as he was out of sight, scrambling to her feet before he came back.

As she crept along the hallway the pink panther theme played in her head, and scenes from the latest James Bond movies flashed in and out of her brain.

Katie had passed at least 20 doors that _all looked the same_ by the time she came to a stairwell.

"Finally," she muttered, opening it. It would appear she was on the bottom floor, as the stairs only went up, and so up she went, her bare feet barely making any noise on the cold, metal steps.

Suddenly there was a bright red light, and a whirling screech of a siren.

"RED ALERT. RED ALERT. PRISONER ESCAPE. RED ALERT." It was coming from a small speaker system in the corner, right next to….

"Ah shit!" Katie cried, seeing the hidden camera zooming in on her face.

Forgoing stealth in favour of quickness, Katie ran all the way up the steps to the next set of doors.

Jerking them open she ran through the hall, glancing frantically left and right for an exit, but all she saw was the sight of a couple guards rushing towards her.

She turned down a hall and spotted a janitors closet.

"Please be unlocked!" she prayed, trying to open the door.

It worked and she stuffed herself inside the tight room, holding her breath for fear the guards would hear her as they stormed past.

They didn't and Katie breathed a sigh of relief as she slipped out of her hiding place. A large hand on her shoulder proved that not all guards were as stupid as she thought.

"You're going to have to come with me Ms." He grumbled, pinning her hands behind her back and throwing a kind of leather bag over them.

"Just so you won't be using that special power on me, no offence Ms." He said, and surprisingly Katie gained some respect for this guard. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, even if he was her enemy at the moment.

They had almost reached the elevator when a voice called out to them, and there was a bright flash of blue, that sent the guard sprawling on the floor.

"What-?" Katie started, but stopped as she caught sight of her saviour.

She would have rubbed her eyes, or pinched herself or _something _if her hands weren't still in the damn bag, because she was sure she was dreaming.

As the leather sack fell off her hands, and she felt the soft caress of fingers on her cheek Katie knew this was no dream, this was indeed who she thought it was.

Peter.

"You always seem to be coming to my rescue." She said breathlessly, soaking up the sight of her friend for the first time in 5 months.

He chuckled, and drew her in for a hug, which she promptly removed herself from.

"Hey!" she shouted, punching him in the arm, "What's this whole, 'being alive but not telling Katie' business! I've been worried sick you know!" blowing the hair from her eyes Katie regarded Peter with a mix of wanting to kill him and wanting to kiss him.

"I've missed you so much." He said quietly, drawing his lips to her gently. She surrendered to his embrace, tangling her fingers in his hair, and smiling into the kiss.

The sound of approaching footsteps made them spring apart, "We have so much to catch up on, but let's get out of here first." Peter said, grabbing Katie arms and screwing his eyes up tight.

Next thing she knew, they were both back in her apartment.

"Whoa," she muttered, eyes growing wide at the sudden change of location. "That's new!"

"Yeah it's something-" but Katie didn't wait around to hear the rest of the sentence, running instead into another room.

Peter could faintly hear the sound of "Hello goose feather pillows! Nice to see you Egyptian cotton sheets!" as Katie jumped onto her bed and snuggled deeply into her comforter, grinning in satisfaction.

"Same old Katie," he chuckled to himself, walking in to tear her away from the love affair she was having with her blankets.


	7. A Simple Haircut

**Hey guys! Hope that everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I wanted to extend my sincerest thanks to all my lovely reviewers, you guys rock!  
A thank you to all those silent followers as well!**

**R&R!**

**Chapter Six: A Simple Haircut**

Peter had changed. The evidence was in the way he talked, the way he dressed, but mostly in the way he acted around Katie. That is to say he did one of two things, he either treated her as a glass doll, one that should be kept under lock and key in a museum, or he acted as if she was the complete opposite.

Which is Peter language means…

"I swear to god if you give me one more hickey I'm never kissing you ever again." Katie grumbled, tying a scarf around her neck to fix her unfortunate problem. She didn't exactly _mind _his mood swings, they were just different. Peter never joked around anymore, didn't spontaneously burst into song, and stayed awake all night pouring over books and mysterious manuscripts. (The one time she had tried to see what he was reading he sneakily distracted her with some well-placed kisses.)

"Oh hush, you know you like it," he whispered into her ear, wrapping her tiny frame up in a hug. Katie smiled, patting his cheek.

"_Thanks for cooking Peter," Katie smiled, taking a bit of the cheese capeletti he had prepared. It was Katie's first meal since she escaped, and even though ramen noodles would have probably appeased her stomach monster, the delicious homemade pasta and red wine combo Peter created was amazing._

_The two did the dishes together, Katie washing and Peter drying until the kitchen counter was sparkling clean again._

"_So Peter-" she began, but was cut off with a smothering kiss. Surprised, Katie didn't react for a good 4 seconds but regained her wits, and kissed him back. Katie ran her hand up Peter's chiseled chest and across his back, nails tickling him ever so slightly._

_They parted to take a breather, but only a slight one as Peter dove right back in, planting fierce marks on her neck._

_Katie giggled, pulling away, "Peter, you can slow down. I'm not going anywhere."_

_He growled in his throat, nipping at her throat slightly. "I know. I've just missed you that's all."_

"_Well, I've missed you too." She replied gently, tousling his hair slightly._

"_Yeah, but it's different."_

_She didn't question him, but tilted his head towards her and kissed him passionately. He smiled into it, and lifted her up against the while, shirt riding up slightly to expose her belly._

_Peter squeezed her hips tightly, pulling her closer to him, almost seeming like he wanted to melt their two bodies together into one._

'_That's going to leave a bruise.' Katie thought, glancing down at his large hands which were gripping her sides. 'Oh well.'_

_Suddenly Katie was off of the wall and suspended in Peters arms as he walked them over to her bedroom, never breaking their fervent lip-lock. He set her down on the duvet, pinning her arms above her head tightly with his own._

_She blushed but smiled up at him nonetheless, cheeks red with anticipation._

"_I love you." He said quietly_

"_I love you too Peter."_

"Down boy," she said, watching Peter smirk in return.

Extracting herself from his grip she walked out of her bedroom, brows knitting themselves together in frustration.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked, trailing behind her

"I'm looking for my keys," she huffed, "I swear I left them on the coffee table."

She heard a jingle from behind her and looked up to see Peter dangling her purple leopard print key chain on his finger.

"Oh good!" she exclaimed, reaching over for them, only to have Peter stuff them inside his jacket pocket.

"You can't leave the apartment," he told her seriously, grabbing her wrists.

Katie grumbled, here was exhibit A of Peter acting over protective, ever since she escape from The Company he wouldn't let her out of the house. Scaredy-pants was afraid they'd capture her and drag her back into her prison.

"We've been over this a million times! I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself! I want to go see Nathan too!"

After Peter explained that his brother had been shot Katie's first instinct was to get him to teleport her over to the hospital and see if he was okay. It had been 2 weeks and she had yet to leave her apartment, even to get a morning coffee.

"I said no Katie, it's not safe."

"Well when will it be safe? I can't stay in here forever you know!" His dark eyes pierced her intensely, before he sighed and dropped his gaze.

"I know. Just give it a little longer okay?" he swooped in for a lip bruising kiss, leaving no room for argument.

Grinding their hips together briefly, Peter pulled away leaving Katie slightly breathless.

His kissing had really improved since she had seen him last, there was no nervousness to his actions anymore, but a suave confidence that was _oh so sexy_. But some part in her brain protested at his new accomplishment, 'He must have learned it from _Elle_'.

"Stupid whore." She mumbled quietly,

"What?" Peter asked, looking at her curiously.

"Oh, n-nothing." She stuttered, embarrassed that he had heard that.

"I have to go see Nathan. I'll tell him you said hi." And with a final parting wave Peter left her flat, a small popping noise being heard as he teleported to Odessa. But he would no doubt be back later. He apparently thought her apartment was better than anywhere else, because he spent 75% of his time there.

She mentally counted 30 Mississippi's and then reached above the mantle place to the little plastic figurine of Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service.

Pulling the tail, the mouth popped open to reveal Katie's spare set of keys.

"Gotcha," she said mischievously, pocketing the keys and pulling on her shoes.

"Sorry Peter, but I need some fresh air!" she exclaimed, leaving her apartment.

Item #1 on Katie's 'Things-To-Do' list was to get her hair cut. However many weeks she was in captivity, plus the two weeks stuck with Peter did horrible damage on her brown strands, split ends, dead-ends, the works.

Her favourite salon was 'Curl Up & Dye' a, surprisingly considering the name, friendly place that had the best smelling shampoo around. It was pretty far, but considering she hadn't really had the chance to stretch her legs in a while Katie didn't mind.

Her car was still in the parking lot where she had left it, and Katie smiled happily upon seeing it. Her pride and joy, a baby-blue punch buggy convertible which she had lovingly dubbed 'Carla' was the efforts of a hard earned summer salary when she was 18. It had never broken down so Katie never saw the need to purchase a new one, even if it _was _a bit childish now.

As she turned it on the familiar purr of the engine calmed her nerves somewhat. Not that she should be nervous, her salon and Nathan's hospital were in different states for god's sake, so there would be no chance of her bumping into Peter. Yet she was still anxious. It felt like someone was _watching her. _

Shrugging it off Katie pulled out onto the road, flicking on the radio as she drove.

_I don't want to be anything other than what I've been trying to be lately._

A grin etched its way onto her face, "Ah hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" she cried,

"I don't wanna be anything other than me yeah!" she rocked out to the Gavin DeGraw song as she drove, making up the words when she didn't know them.

Finally she pulled into her hair heaven, and flounced in on her boots, feeling lighter than air.

"Katie!" a chorus of voices rang out, and she was pulled into a welcoming hug by Yvon, her resident hairstylist.

"We haven't seen you in forever!" he said, his thick Russian accent disguising his words.

"Yeah, I've been super busy." She replied, hanging her jacket up on the hooks near the door.

"Are you free now? I could really use a cut & wash." She sighed, glancing up at the bear of a man. He was a strange sight that was certain, he stood at 6'4, all muscle, with a large dragon tattoo racing up and down his left arm. But he was the best hairdresser in NY, and a sweetheart deep down, which was why Katie insisted on coming to him.

"For you, of course!" he said, ushering her into his leather chair.

As she lay her head back into the soapy water, and the smell of Guava shampoo filled her senses Katie felt completely and utterly at ease.

By the time Yvon finished Katie had caught up on every drop of gossip she had missed, and had heard recaps of the last few episodes of Sex & the City, she was horrified to learn she had missed the finale.

"You have _got _to come over so we can have a marathon." Katie said as she gathered up her things to leave.

"You can count on it." Yvon told her, giving her one last parting hug.

"Bye guys!" she waved, exiting the shop feeling light and carefree, although that might have been because 5 tonnes of her hair was now lying on the salons floor.

She had got it cut in a very particular fashion so that Peter would be none the wiser about her outdoor adventure, she left it the same length but got it thinned out, and considering Peter had some sort of mental handicap when it came to fashion, he wouldn't notice a thing.

As she was heading back into her car she noticed a cute little coffee shop on the corner, one that she had frequented before, and thought it would be a grand idea to pop in and grab a bite to eat.

"Oh, but they don't accept credit there. Poo." Katie groaned to herself, cursing the store's lack of modern technology.

"I'll just stop in the bank and get some cash; my mochacinno craving is too big to be ignored now."

Mind set Katie drove to the bank, quickly walking in to take out some money; she could almost hear her stomach grumbling.

"Yeah yeah, hold on one sec." she told it, inserting her card into the atm. Drumming her nails against her arm, she waited for the slow machine to finish processing.

"Finally," she murmured, grabbing her cash and letting the next person in line go.

Then there was a yell, "Everybody on the ground now!" and blue flames swam into her vision, catching a couple pieces of discarded paper on fire.

Eyes wide Katie dropped to the floor, barely missing a jet of fire than was sent above her head.

There were 4 men, all extremely scary looking, all glaring at everybody and adopting fighting stances. Well, there was one guy in the back, who looked kind of freaked out. But he was talking with the skinny black guy who wore a face filled with malice and disgust, so Katie assumed they were working together.

The men blocked off the doors and flicked closed the blinds, shrouding everyone in darkness. She could hear people crying, some screaming for mercy and to be let go. The only thing they got in return was a jet of fire sent from Scary Man #2's hands.

Wait…his hands?

Peering closer Katie saw that it was no trick of the light; the flames were coming directly from his palms, which meant this man had an ability like her.

It also meant that the rest of them probably had abilities, which made their danger factor go up 300%.

"Of all the days for me to not listen to Peter, I pick the one that lands me in the middle of a hostage situation." She sighed.


	8. The Future

**What's crackalacking guys and gals? It's dreadfully hot in Ottawa today, I hope wherever you are, dear reader, you are keeping cool and relaxed.**

**Here's a chapter FULL of Peter, more than one Peter in fact!**

**Some violent & sexual themes here, you know how bad guys get; just a heads up.**

**(And for those wondering, YES Sylar is showing up SOON. either next chapter or the one after that, depending on how this all goes down.)  
Enjoy~**

**Chapter Seven: The Future**

The atmosphere in the bank lobby was one of tense anxiety; Katie could tell the robbers were becoming antsy. They had started to argue amongst themselves, which was always a bad sign. It meant they would get nervous, sloppy, which would wind up in one of the bystanders to get hurt.

Katie knew she should probably do something, but frankly didn't really want to go up against those four scary-ass Supernaturals, even if she could reduce them to their knees with only her fingers.

She could see a frightened bank employee across from her shuffling nervously to her left. Her fingers were shaking and she was crying, clutching her cross necklace tightly in hand.

"What are you doing?" Katie mouthed across the aisle, was she trying to escape or something?

The woman glanced to something under the desk, her wide blue eyes motioning to a concealed emergency button. Katie shook her head furiously; this woman was going to get caught, and then things would get very ugly for everyone. The lady ignored her pleas' to stop, reaching her small hand up to press the button when one of the robbers, the guy who could produce flames, ambled over and crouched down to her level.

"Ah, ah, ah. Let's not be doing that darling, then the police will have to come and crash our party, and we were having _so much fun._" He growled, a southern accent thick in his voice.

"I'm sorry!" she whimpered, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Yeah, me too." He replied, pulling her to her feet roughly and pressing her to his chest, a leering look on his face.

"Hey!" Katie shouted at him, "Pick on someone your own size tough guy!"

The man turned, dropping the sobbing girl and advancing on Katie.

'Aw shit,' she thought, trying to scramble backwards but hitting the wall. Her heart was beating mercilessly in her chest, and she was thankful she hadn't eaten anything yet that day or else it would be coming right back out now.

"What'd you say?" he asked, to which Katie's oh-so-clever brain replied.

"You heard me, or did I stutter?"

To say he was a little miffed was an understatement; he yanked her up by her arm, staring her dead in the eye.

"You got a smart mouth on you, why don't we put it to better use."

Panicking, Katie dug her feet into the carpet, on the verge of using her power to get away.

"No! Let me go." She gritted out, but the big man didn't even seem to know she was struggling, and continued to drag her towards the back room.

Suddenly a voice shouted out, "Hey! Leave her alone."

It was the other bald guy, the one with the tattoo's and the slightly freaked out expression. He was staring the other guy down, not even looking at Katie.

"What, are you going to stop me?"

"Yeah! I am!" he said standing up angrily and taking a step towards the flame-guy, fists clenched.

'No offence dude, but your measly fists won't do jack-shit against a human blow-torch.' Katie thought wryly, still stand awkwardly to the side of fire-dude.

A commotion from the vault door stole his attention away, and with one final look at Katie, something along the lines of lust and malice, he stomped away.

Apparently money beat sex in his life.

Sighing at her close call Katie slide down the wall into a heap on the floor, holding her head in her hands. She didn't notice tattoo-ed baldy staring at her, as if trying to place her in his memory.

Feeling his gaze she snapped her head up, making direct eye contact. The man gave a start, mouth swinging open, pupils dilating. He was seriously beginning to freak Katie out when he hurriedly got up from his chair and rushed over to her.

"Ka-!" he began, footsteps away from her and hand outstretched. Someone called his name from over by the window, it was Jesse, and he turned slightly, but didn't move.

Katie watched him with hawk eyes, wondering what on earth he was doing, and what he was about to say. He had a knowing look in his eyes like he knew her, although Katie was sure they never met.

His name was called again, this time impatiently, and with one last desperation filled glance he walked away.

'Strange,' Katie thought, making herself comfortable once again on the ground.

#

Peter Petrelli was used to following people, not that he normally had a problem with that. Nathan was the leader out of the two of them; he always knew what to do, how to talk to people and make them follow his advice. He _was _the politician after all.

Today was no different, although the circumstances were quite peculiar. He was in New York, or rather New York as it would be seen four years in the future, where superpowers were available to the highest bidder. It should have brought Peter comfort, that he wasn't alone in the struggle to understand his abilities. But a voice in the back of his mind was whispering to him that people were going to abuse this, they would be greedy and want more and more until the earth had nothing left to give. Strangely this voice had a name; it was Peter, although he liked to call him 'scar-face'.

"Do you see now? This world is crumbling; everything will be destroyed within the blink of eye. We need to stop it." The scarred man turned towards Peter; giving him the serious looked that seemed permanently etched onto his face. He was leading Peter somewhere away from the busy streets, taking back alleys and abandoned warehouses to reach their destination. Obviously he wanted to keep hidden.

He said nothing, but continued to walk, his jacket making slight *swish* sounds every now and then, glancing at his companion from the corner of his eye.

Their similarities were striking, as they were the same person, however Peter could see that the future him had lived through hardships and dealt with unspeakable things. He had called himself 'an unwanted hero', someone who was doing what was best for the world, even if the world didn't know it yet. And even if Peter was still apprehensive about the man his curiosity got the better of him and was forcing his legs to follow him.

Scar face suddenly stopped, motioning with his hand to a wall on his left.

Peter looked up to see a huge painting adorning the bricks, much bigger than any he had ever seen before. Whoever had painted it must have wanted to get their message across badly.

It was the world, exploding from within, the countries cracking down the middle and becoming engulfed in orange light. It was beautiful, magnificently painted, but haunting and foreboding at the same time.

He was confused, "When does this happen?"

Future Peter gave a shrug, "Don't know. What I do know is that it's man made."

That made Peter take a step back, eyes widening slightly. It reminded him of something Katie used to say; _Humans are not an endangered species; however, that isn't for a lack of trying._

This thought brought a heart-stopping halt to everything going on around Peter; he hadn't forgotten about her, he could never. But by pushing her to the back of his mind most of the time he could spare himself from the searing pain of loneliness he got when thinking of her. But when he had seen her at the bank….

_It was Katie. His Katie, that he had left behind at Kirby Plaza, and that he had been dreaming about every night since._

_Of course, she didn't recognize him, not with the current body he was living in, but the sight of her brought back so many memories and feelings that had remained hidden for such a long time. Their first meeting, their first kiss, the first time they said 'I love you', it all replayed in his mind, every detail so crisp it was as if it had just happened._

_He didn't mean to leave her, when he dropped Nathan off at the hospital the first place he had planned on going was straight to her apartment. But then he had been taken in by the company, they had persuaded him to stay, that it would protect the people he loved. People like Nathan and Katie._

_He was so naive to have believed them._

_And now look what happened, the love of his life had been sitting 5 meters away from him scared-shitless because she thought he was a bad guy. And he couldn't bring himself to go to her, to tell her why he had willingly disappeared from her life._

Now he wished that he had gone to her then and there, he would do anything to see her again.

"Hey-" he started, tucking his hair behind his ear lightly, but Scar face held up his hand.

"I can see on your face what you're going to ask me. There's something I need to tell you though, about Katie." His face was thoughtful, as if remembering something, before it disappeared and a stormy look flitted into his eyes, his hands clenching together tightly.

"Well what is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Peter launched into an explanation.

"After you disappeared Katie began working for a man named Bob, in the hospital section of the Company. While there she accidentally got injected with the Shanti virus," at this Peter winced, remembering how close he had been to releasing that disease on the world. "it released some hidden abilities Katie had."

A part of Peter grinned happily, Katie had always been jealous of the fact that he had powers, and now she did too, and he knew she must have been overjoyed.

"But her power was dangerous; she didn't know how to control it. She hurt some people." Future Peter was now leaning against the brick wall, eyes squinting against the midday sun.

Peter really couldn't see Katie hurting anyone. His gentle Katie couldn't even win at Wii boxing, and wasn't one for violence in general. But he didn't want to interrupt, so he let it go.

"Bob took her in, put her in a cell. But she didn't get out for a very long time, and after all that she changed. Her mind…wasn't quite the same. She did learn how to use her power though, with just the touch of her pinky she could have you screaming on the floor in agony. Which was unfortunate for the guards when Katie finally escaped. Some were dead; some had gone mad from the pain. She disappeared for a while, I tried to track her down when I realized what happened to her. But she was picked up by a company, I still don't know who they are, and they offered her a job. Basically an interrogator. And she _loved _her job. I should know, she interrogated me once." Peter stopped there, grimacing and fingering the scar on his face slightly.

"Did she give that to you?" he asked, but received no response.

"I tried to reason with her, get her to see that the world wasn't her enemy. She didn't have to be the villain. She just laughed at me though, said it was ironic that the terrorist was giving her advice." He glanced up at his younger counterpart, "If you ever see her, I know you'll want to talk and kiss her and hold her hand, but she isn't the same person. She's cut-throat, and she doesn't give a damn who you are. To her, you're just another person who's abandoned her."

It was a heck of a lot to take in, first everyone has powers, and then his future self is a terrorist. Now the love of his life is an evil interrogator. A killer.

The silence that followed this story was heavy, the thick air seeming to choke Peter.

Scar face, although he had finished his tale, was still mulling something over in his head, so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't even seem to notice anything around him.

He definitely didn't see the brunette stepping out of the car, gun in hand.

And he didn't even know he had been hit with a round until he felt the asphalt against his cheek.

**There we go! R&R?**


	9. Captive

**Sorry for the wait! Summer has been hectic :S  
Thanks again to my awesome reviewers, who have a special place in my heart 3**

**Enjoy guys~**

**R&R**

**Chapter Eight: Captive**

There were very few people in the world that could survive being 5 feet away from a nuclear explosion, Peter wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or not that he was part of that small group.

The heat had been intense; he could feel his skin peeling off and then regrowing, a vicious cycle of pain and torment that ended only when he passed out from it all.

And when he woke up the heat was gone, replaced by the numbing chill of metal on bare skin, he was strapped to a table, surrounded by medical equipment. Scalpels, scissors, gauze, Peter was hoping he was in a hospital of some sort, but based on his restraints and the lack of overall happiness in this room, he knew he had been captured. By the people who wanted him dead, and had succeeded once, no less.

He pulled on the fabric holding his hands, and when that didn't budge he tried to tap into his powers. Lightning, fire, and teleportation he tried them all, but nothing happened.

Frustrated, Peter let out a cry, jerking once again against his bond, but only chaffing his wrists. He knew he had to escape, he didn't have any other option, the only reason they hasn't killed him already was because they wanted to make him suffer; torture him until he gave them whatever information they needed.

He had come to the future to learn how to save the people he most loved, and dying would let everyone down.

Failure wasn't even an option, so Peter shut his eyes, screwed up his face in concentration and tried desperately to teleport back to the present, grunting slightly with exertion.

"You've made everybody very angry you know." A voice pierced Peter's thoughts; he had been so preoccupied that he didn't even hear the door swing open, or the click-clack of stiletto clad feet walking towards his bed.

His eyes snapped open at the familiarity of the voice, taking in the face that peered down at him. Her brown hair was a shade or two darker, but was still worn in those messy waves Peter had loved to run his hands through. Her slightly upturned nose had a small jewel in it, as did the upper part of her ear, both black, matching the outfit she wore. Her legs seemed miles long in the short black skirt, her tiny frame accentuated by the red bomber jacket and form fitting black V-neck, which made his mouth involuntarily water. Her full lips, rouged in a way Peter had never seen, were quirked slightly into a smirk that looked so out of place on her face.

"Katie?"

She rolled her eyes, drumming her brightly painted nails against her arm, "I told them to send me. Claire is…inexperienced at best, she doesn't have the ruthlessness to catch a killer, although she huffs and puffs and pretends she owns the world." She stopped, pulling her face closely to his, "You know, I do remember ruining that pretty little face of yours last time we met, are you ashamed of my handiwork? I thought it gave you character." She pouted slightly, and then giggled, smacking herself on the forehead.

"Oh, but I've forgotten. You're from the past aren't you?" He could only muster a nod, his future self had warned him of the changes Katie had gone through, but he had been happy to stay in his little bubble of denial, clinging to the memory of his innocent little girl back in New York.

She clapped her hands together, "This is going to be _so much fun!_ My old toy gets replaced by a shiny new one."

The glee in her voice was underlined with cruel intentions, and as she reached out her hand towards him Peter couldn't help but feel panicked, but from what? Katie would never hurt him, she didn't have it in her and-

Peter was ripped viciously from his thoughts as Katie slapped him hard across the face, her nails scrapping along his cheek painfully. He had been slapped before, but this was different. The pain was more intense, and lasted longer, it confused him.

"Hurts like a bitch right? Good. That's my own special brand of pain, you're lucky I'm starting you off gentle. Before long I'll have you screaming on the floor like a baby, wishing to god you were dead." Her voice darkened as she spoke, ad she clenched her fists menacingly, veins popping out from her pale skin.

"Why are you doing this? What happened to you! It's me Peter! I'm your hero-!"

"Shut up!" she spat, backhanding him again, "I don't need to explain anything to you Peter. And I'm sick and tired of you asking!"

Stars swam across his vision, and Peter spit out blood coughing quietly.

"I'm not who you think I am. I haven't abandoned you Katie! I love you."

Brown eyes glared at him from beneath hooded lids, before softening.

She sat next to him on his metal bed, running her hand gently over his face, "Oh, Peter." She whispered, cupping his chin and pulling his face towards hers.

Relaxing slightly, Peter breathed a mental sigh of relief, his future self was wrong, this woman wasn't an interrogator, all she needed was to remember who she was, and that he loved her more than anything in the world. Their lips met briefly in a familiar kiss and he savoured the moment, until a huge tidal wave of pain swept through him. It was as if a thousand hot knives were stabbing him all over his body, he screamed loud, voice growing hoarse. He tried to break their lip-lock, but Katie held his head in her hands, connecting them and creating more white hot pain.

Finally she broke apart, barely giving Peter time to catch his breath before sending a punch to his stomach, once again using her power to cause him to cry out, tears leaping to his eyes.

Then she stepped back, smiling slightly to herself, cracking her knuckles delightfully.

"Are you done questioning me now? Do you realize that I could kill you?" she asked, adjusting her leather jacket.

Peter shook his head vehemently, despite the agony he was feeling throughout his body.

"I know you Katie, and whoever this is, it's just something you're going through that we can overcome. You love eating pasta, especially for breakfast, your favourite movie is Gone with the Wind, which I hated but watched anyways because you loved it. You know all the words to every Britney Spears song, and can recite the alphabet backwards. You have a trombone but you never learned how to play, and there's a pink fluffy rabbit in your room that you call Gerard. You're sweet and funny and the most beautiful person I have ever known. And THIS is NOT YOU!" he screamed the last part out, voice shaking with anger that he couldn't make her see.

She didn't reply, her back was facing him so all he could see was the curtain of dark hair that hid her face.

"And you couldn't kill me even if you wanted to."

He realized that that was the wrong thing to say when she pivoted on her heels and stalked towards him, fist clenched tightly at her side, eyes almost red with anger.

"You just don't know when to quit do you? Your incompetence astounds me." She hissed, punching him across the cheek.

"You can't talk about me! You abandoned me Peter! I was alone, in a cell for 3 years, just waiting for my _hero _to show up and save me! But you never came, too busy protecting Claire, trying to piece your precious family back together. So I had to fend for myself, and guess what HERO? I'm strong now! More powerful than you could _ever _be, because I'm not afraid of anyone, I've dealt with the worst the world has to offer, and I've come out of it alive." Every other word she gripped his arm tightly, sending out blasts of pain that increased in power as her spiel went on.

"So fuck you Mr. Save-The-World, because you don't know shit about me."

Peter wished he could curl up on himself he was in so much agony but his bonds restricted him from doing so, instead he gritted his teeth, refusing to show weakness. This wasn't his Katie, she was so changed that there was no going back to the way she was before. He had accepted that, knowing that what he needed to do know was to get back to his present and protect Katie from getting captured (again) and becoming this monster.

Her playful persona was gone, and she seemed to sense that, because she stepped away from him, and smoothed out her skirt. Then she smiled brightly, patting Peter's cheek slightly, although not hurting him.

"I guess that's enough for today. Can't kill you yet, Claire would have a cow." She winked, before ruffling his hair again.

Peter glared at her, snapping his teeth at her fingers. "Oh, you're done playing the nice boy now? Finally going to fight back? Well darling I must say that it's more fun that way, but I really don't have time." She seemed genuinely sorry, frowning as she pulled open the door. "But never fear, we always have tomorrow!" were her parting words before she turned the corridor and Peter lost sight of her.

His head fell back, the cold, which before had seemed so uncomfortable, now soothed his giant headache and aching limbs.

He was in deep trouble, he knew that, and if he didn't find a way back to his own time soon….

"I'm screwed." He sighed

#

"Sorry Miss, but you can't leave until you have been debriefed; we need to get all the stories straight." Katie grimaced as the portly police officer led her to a makeshift tent, a blue tarp strung between a couple cars to provide some privacy.

All she wanted was to get home before Peter did, but as of right now that didn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

"Yeah alright," she agreed, stepping through the tent's flap and sitting in the plastic chair that waited for her.

"Detective Gray will be here shortly to ask you some questions."

She gave a curt nod, before making herself as comfortable as she could on the patio furniture. Katie drummed her nails against the arm, impatiently awaiting this detective so she could go.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Miss…"

"Ritch." She replied, turning to face the person who had just entered the tent, no doubt the detective she had to talk to.

He held out his hand pleasantly, "Nice to meet you, my name is-"

"Sylar." She breathed out, eyes widening impossibly wide, and hand leaping up to clutch her heart, as if that would stop it from beating a mile a minute.

He was well coiffed and wearing a nice suit, but there was no question that this was Sylar, the man who had been murdering every supernatural person he could find, and almost killing Peter (and herself) in the process.

His face was confused for a moment, before he pulled himself up straighter. "I'm afraid you have me mistaken." He spoke, deep voice wavering slightly.

"I most certainly do not." She snapped back, taking a step away from this murderer.

He advanced towards her, and Katie panicked, groping behind her for any type of weapon she could use, but her hands only met thin air.

"Stay back! I'll call for help!" she cried, scurrying behind the desk.

Sylar frowned, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Gabriel, not Sylar. And I'm only here to speak with you."

"Bull!" she replied, to which he gave a small sigh.

"You've killed my best friend, and tried to kill my boyfriend, I have no reason to trust you." He stopped for a moment, "Boyfriend?" he asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Peter Petrelli!" she retorted, glaring at the man.

"Ah yes. I do remember him."

"Ha! So you are Sylar!" she shouted triumphantly, although why she thought that was a good thing was beyond her.

"No. That's who I used to be. I am different now." He said calmly, taking baby steps towards her again.

She didn't hurry backwards, mostly because she had reached the end of the tent; instead she crossed her arms across herself protectively.

"Sorry if I'm not inclined to believe you."

"That's alright. It takes some getting used to I suppose." He said chuckling.

Warily Katie stepped closer to him, "So what do you want?"

"Well, I was hoping I could ask you a few questions." He said, ruffling through some papers on the desk, "About what happened in the bank."

Katie blinked, processing his proposal.

Mulling it over in her head, she finally agreed. "But no funny business. I've taken kickboxing classes and if you do much as try anything I'll open a can of whoopass on you." She thought she was being threatening, but obviously not, because Gabriel rolled his eyes lightly,

"Whoopass?"

"I heard it in a movie once," she admitted, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Gotcha." He said, pouring himself a cup of coffee, and sifting once again through his notes.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked, raising his eyes to look at her.

"I'd better not," she answered, who knew how Peter would react if he knew she was having coffee with the enemy.


	10. Electric Green

**Extending the biggest thank you ever to my reviewers, as well as to my silent readers and favourite-ers! You guys keep me smiling so thank you~**

**Some liberties taken with some of the canon here, but not too much.**

**This is all from Peter's POV  
R&R**

**-The Sparkle Queen**

**Chapter Nine: Electric Green**

After Katie had left, Peter was alone with his thoughts, not that he could do very much thinking with the pounding headache he still had. So many questions were running through his head, why did Katie have a power? Why was it so destructive? How did she escape whatever prison cell she claimed to be in? He knew she had to have gotten free somehow, he had seen her at the bank before all the hostages got taken to safety.

For that he was extremely thankful, but even her well-being wasn't enough to calm Peter's nerves. A rhythmic _drip_ noise could be heard from somewhere to the left of him, but he couldn't tilt his head far enough back to see what it was, besides an annoyance.

Every drip gave him something new to think about.

Drip

How the hell was he supposed to get out of here?

Drip

He was hungry.

Drip

He wished he was wearing a shirt.

Drip

What was the deal with Sylar? Although he went by Gabriel now, Peter still couldn't help but think that this man was still a villain. He did have a son, Noah, but who was the mother? He didn't see her when he went to visit. And he supposed now he wouldn't ever, considering what had happened to Costa Verde.

Drip

Couldn't-

A slam resounded from in front of him, the metal door had just swung open, hitting the wall with such intensity it hurt Peter's teeth.

Wincing slightly, he wondered who his new jailer would be, or perhaps it was Katie again? Either way, he sure as hell wasn't very excited.

"Hello Peter."

If the sight of Claire, Katie and Sylar had been shocking, seeing Nathan standing before him was downright heartbreaking.

He looked good, his hair had grown out somewhat, but was gelled in his usual style. He was wearing a friendly smile, but Peter knew that didn't mean anything in this future.

Still, he couldn't help but feel elation upon seeing his brother, a weightlessness in his chest that was freeing.

"Nathan!" he breathed out, corners of his mouth twitching upwards slightly.

His brother didn't react, but held up his hand as if to silence him.

"I know what you're doing Peter. I'm not stupid; I've seen the paintings, the world splitting in half from within."

Nathan steadied himself against Peter's bed, looking serious and brooding.

"So why aren't you doing anything about it? I've heard you're President now," Peter wanted more than anything to congratulate his brother, but something was holding him back. Everyone else had changed so much, why not Nathan?

"I know. That's why I'm here." He spoke, untying Peter's bonds swiftly.

The pressure off his wrists was like heaven, and Peter let out a huge sigh of relief, rubbing the soreness away.

"Thanks." He muttered, placing his bare feet on the cold tile, wobbling slightly before straightening.

Nathan clapped his hand on his brother's shoulder, turning so they faced each other.

"I need you to go back to your present. You _must _stop this from happening. You've been a hero once Pete, I know you can do it again."

Peter nodded curtly, glad that someone in this world understood that he needed to go home.

"You can't teleport from inside the building, your powers won't work in here, you need to get outside quick, before they've realized you're gone."

Squeezing his brother's shoulder one last time, Nathan walked back towards the door, blue suit wrinkling slightly.

"Good luck, Peter."

Then he left, leaving Peter alone in the room, although not for long because Peter booked it out, feet slapping against the linoleum.

His heart was racing as he looked from left to right, dodging down a stairwell. He passed a bundle of metal doors as he ran, all exactly like the one he had come out from, each bearing no indication as to what was hidden inside them.

Nathan couldn't have given him directions could he? Peter thought in annoyance when he turned down a dead end hallway. He slammed his fist into the freshly painted wall, cursing his bad luck and hoping that his sense of direction wouldn't slow him down enough to be caught.

He backtracked, and then spotted a fire escape hidden in the corner. Speeding towards it, Peter could feel the sweat gliding down his bare back into his pants, creating an off-putting stickiness.

He threw the door open, and jumped down the first few steps, landing painfully on his toes.

"Ouch," he grumbled, pulling himself up again.

Then there was a tap on his shoulder.

Slowly he turned, eyes widening as he saw a frowning Katie, who was clicking her heel impatiently on the stairs.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked, although clearly she already knew the answer.

He didn't respond, but backed up, going down a few more steps in the progress. Maybe if he could just keep her talking he could make his way to the bottom…

Katie shrugged her shoulders, "Fine, don't tell me."

Then she socked him across the face.

He briefly noticed that her nails were electric green today, before bashing into the wall behind him. Forgetting trying to fight her, she still _looked _like his Katie after all, and he really didn't wasn't to hurt her, Peter fled down some more stairs, taking them two at a time.

He could hear her groan in frustration, complaining behind him that 'Heels were not made for chase scenes.'

He paid that no mind though, and scrambled down the stairwell at a quicker pace. She was quick, and reached him soon, grabbing his arm and delivering a swift jolt of pain.

Grimacing he jerked his arm away, spinning so he could look at his chaser. She was wearing a different outfit, dark skinny jeans and over the knee black boots made her look a lot taller than she actually was. A vibrant red tank top was worn under a black leather jacket, and she had sun glasses atop her pony-tailed hair, as if she had just come in from outside.

She caught him staring, "You like what you see?" she asked winking, before sending a high kick to his side.

He barely had time to dodge before she sent another one, and then another. Man she was nimble.

But he caught her last attempt with his hand, smirking at her panicked look. He then flipped her onto her back, leaving her stunned and winded on the ground before continuing his escape attempt, hoping it would be enough to give him time to reach the outside.

He had finally reached the bottom, a steel door with 'EMERGENCY' written in block red letters.

He tried the handle, but the door was locked.

Just his luck.

The slow clack of heels behind him, coupled with quiet laughter told him that Katie was up and very much aware that he was trapped.

"Silly Peter, you could never escape from here, especially not with me chasing after you!" She lazily stepped closer, red lips drawing into a full smile.

A smile that was so achingly familiar, it killed him that he couldn't reach out and embrace her.

He tried the door handle again; frustrated that it would only turn uselessly without giving him access to what he wanted.

He heard her scoff at his feeble attempts and turned his head to glare, to which she gave a helpless sort of pout.

"Don't be mad at me because your sorry piece of ass can't escape a simple building. Now," and both her voice and eyes hardened at this, "will you come with me quietly, or shall I have to drag you?"

He didn't doubt that she would, but remained silent.

Unwilling to go down without a fight, Peter took her by surprise and made the first move before she could even blink, ramming her shoulder against the wall and pinning her there by her neck.

Katie gasped, floundering about like a fish, before taking his hand in hers and sending waves of pain his way. Peter gritted his teeth, his bones felt like lead and he swore his skin was boiling off, but he didn't break his hold.

She increased her power as Peter increased the pressure on her neck, and now blood was freely flowing out of his nose, and his old cuts, which had begun to heal, all cracked open.

Her face was growing pale and turning a slight blue colour; he could sense her beginning to panic. It was a race between the two of them; could she pump so much pain into him that he let go before she passed out?

Peter searched her gorgeous, albeit disturbingly dangerous, face for any sign of her giving up; he wasn't sure how much longer he could last, as he could feel his grip on reality slipping.

Then tears formed in her eyes, running down her cheeks and smudging her mascara.

"Peter," she croaked, "You're hurting me." Her broken voice rang out crystal clear; piercing the fog of pain Peter had been wading through.

He blinked, shocked at how he had been prepared to kill the love of his life. How easily he had become a villain.

Slowly his grip loosened, until he let go and Katie tumbled to the floor in a quivering heap. He could see her shoulder heaving as she tried to reign in sobs.

"I-I don't-" he bent down to rub her back, console this girl, who had just shown him her vulnerability. She had basically just told Peter that deep down she was a scared little girl that had taken on a tough girl attitude for self defense, and was secretly screaming for release.

Her head snapped up as he made physical contact, a malicious smile on her lips.

"Tricked ya." She said, pouncing on Peter and wrapping her dainty arms around his neck, a reversal of the position she had been in not moments ago.

Little minx! Peter thought angrily, irritated that he had been tricked. He grasped her hair in his left hand and pulled, yanking her back onto the ground.

The two wrestled for dominance for a moment, Katie using her power whenever she could, Peter still not really wanting to hurt her, but having no choice.

Finally he locked a solid grip around her arm, and threw her into the railing, which she hit face first.

Peter bent over; catching his breath, when he saw that she wasn't getting up, having been knocked unconscious by the hit.

He reached over to her, grabbing her ID card from her jacket pocket. His eyes took her in slowly, when she was asleep she looked so much like the Katie he used to know, her face was so peaceful.

He turned away, swiping the card through the reader next to the fire escape, and gripping the handle tightly.

'I won't let her become this person' he told himself fiercely, giving one final look towards the girl slumped over on the floor.

'I'll be her hero. No matter what.'

He turned the knob and stepped out into the sunlight, smiling at the feeling of warmth on his face.

Then a rush went through him as he felt himself regain all his powers.

Including the newest addition, which he had gained when he went to go visit Sylar.

_SYLAR_ he yelled angrily in his mind, all thoughts being pushed aside except for those about the soon to be deceased Gabriel Gray.


	11. Jeopardy

**SO SO SO sorry for the long wait! I've been basking in the vacation sun and scrambling to get my things together for uni, but I've got a chapter fresh for you despite all that :)**

**This was actually a really fun one to write, so I hope you guys enjoy!  
Is it going too fast? Too slow? Want to see something specific? Want more Peter/Katie? (I assure you, there will be some cutesy fluff coming up soon) Let me know!**

**Chapter Ten: Jeopardy**

Katie had never seen the appeal of Jeopardy, boring people talking about boring things, and winning a sum of money that was nothing compared to what you could win playing Deal or No Deal. It also had a strange knack to make her feel absolutely inadequate, asking questions that she thought were impossibly hard to answer, and yet the contestants and the host knew the answers to without a second thought.

It made Katie's brain hurt to say the least.

But when she came home from that eventful day at the bank, all she wanted was some background noise so she could concentrate on unscrambling her jumbled thoughts, putting the pieces together like a puzzle. And Jeopardy happened to be the perfect choice.

So with the quiet words of Alec Trebek playing on her television, Katie had slumped into her teal couch with a mug of chai tea.

_The afternoon had started off so innocently, if running away (Albeit temporarily) from her overprotective boyfriend counted as innocent. And then it had gotten scary, but it had all culminated into one word with the appearance of Sylar-Who-Now-Goes-As-Gabriel…..STRANGE._

_His questions were fairly straightforward, why was she at the bank? Was she alone? Could she describe the events that unfolded?_

_Her answers were short, maybe even leaning on rude at some points, not that Katie cared. This man had done nothing but hurt her (Indirectly of course, but that still counted in Katie's eyes.) and didn't deserve her respect._

_He could tell all of this from her frosty demeanor, but didn't show any annoyance or unhappiness at her lack of trust; he just gave his calm little half smile and continued with his questioning._

_Katie couldn't get a grip around the thought of a pleasant Sylar, nor could she understand his motives. A tiger doesn't change his stripes, and so Katie knew there had to be some hidden agenda behind his friendly disposition._

_She hadn't stayed long. Maybe 15 minutes, before giving a brusque apology, saying she needed to get going. Her decision was partially because she was so uncomfortable with the conversation the two were having, and partially because she knew Peter would be home soon and she had to be there to receive him, he couldn't know she had left the house. Especially because she had put herself in danger, exactly what Peter had warned her against._

_Sylar gave her a sad smile, before thanking her for her time, shaking her hand firmly. Katie wondered what would happen if she used her powers right then, pumped so much pain into this man that he died. No one would miss him she was sure._

_Her musings were interrupted when Sylar spoke though: "And Katie, I am sorry. I need you to know that."_

_She was angry, how dare he presume that would make things better? But he was making an effort, and so Katie let him off the hook, giving a tight lipped smile in return._

_She crashed face first into the couch, groaning deeply into her new silk pillows. Sylar popping up in her life, especially when the last time she had seen him he was bleeding out from a pretty gnarly sword wound, was dredging up unwanted memories. Memories of, if you could believe it, simpler times. Even though her life was riddled with people carrying mythical abilities, and there was a crazy villain trailing their every move, she knew exactly who she was, and what she believed in. However now her life had complicated itself; her own powers manifesting, Peters abrupt disappearance, the strange feeling of foreboding she got sometimes, it all seemed to cloud her once clear outlook on life._

_She wished she had the answer to some questions._

"_These two years were impossibly long to baseball fans, who mourned the absence of The World Series."_

_Katie blinked at Trebek, her mouth opening before she knew it._

"_1904 and 1994." She said to the television, holding her breath for the answer, which one of the contestants correctly dinged in._

"_That is right." The host smiled back, turning towards the playing board once more._

_She sat up straighter in her seat, paying more attention to the Jeopardy game. One of the categories, 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' was right up Katie's alley. A self-proclaimed Ball-Girl, one of Katie's many vices was the inability NOT to watch a baseball game, especially when her favourite team, The Tampa Bay Rays were playing. It was silly, a girl who obsessed over nail polish finding comfort in America's dirty, grimy sport, and yet she found herself drawn to it._

_From a young age she had begged and pleaded for baseball tickets from her parents, who thought princess castles would suit her more. But she didn't give up, and saved every last penny to buy a ticket to a Tampa Bay game, going so far to even steal her parents' car for a weekend, claiming a spa retreat._

_It was exhilarating, amazing and magnificent. The fast-paced game soon became Katie's passion, and over the years she had eaten so many stadium hotdogs, and sat on so many metal seats that she could safely say a baseball stadium was her second home._

_The next question in that category rolled on screen, and she got the answer to that one as well. Soon, Katie became so enraptured with answering the questions (Although technically she was questioning the answers.) that she didn't realize she was trying to figure out the other categories as well. Even though she didn't know anything from the science category, and only got one or two from American History, Katie watched the whole show. And what was stranger was that she enjoyed it._

It had been a week since Katie had started watching Jeopardy and a solid week since she had seen Peter. Of course she was worried, he didn't exactly have the best track record for keeping safe, but Katie had absolutely no idea where he was. She had phoned Nathan in a panic on the second night, asking him if he had any idea where he could be. He didn't, which only led Katie to believe that something awful had happened to him.

So she had stayed up every night, watching Jeopardy and eating copious amounts of Chinese take-out, waiting for him to come home. He never showed though, despite her constant dreams about him popping into her apartment, saying he was off saving the world and he was sorry he left.

Finally she had had enough, and, because it had helped her cope with the loss of Peter all those months ago, she headed for Kirby Plaza.

It was much busier mid-day than at 5am, and Katie had some trouble finding a free spot to sit amongst the rushing commuters and people frantically eating their lunch so they could get back to whatever they did as a job.

She pulled her sweater tight around herself, glancing to and fro for anyone she knew, or anyone she wished she knew. There was an old man feeding the pigeons who looked kind of interesting, the wrinkled in his face, as much laugh lines as they were age lines, told Katie that he would have some stories to share. She supposed he was married, to someone he had loved since childhood. He didn't grow up wealthy, but he was now, and loved to throw lavish parties from his penthouse, where all his friends would gather around a smoky poker table and play until their poker faces cracked into thunderous laughter. Then he would amble into bed with his wife, they were too old for heavy petting, but she thought he might still enjoy some cuddling.

Katie smiled, quite enjoying the life she had made for this stranger, and she looked about for someone else to imagine stuff about.

Her eyes landed on a perky looking blond, although her hair colour was more white if anything, who was wearing a track suite and sneakers. Then she noticed that the woman was staring at her too, and Katie, embarrassed, turned her head down, cheeks aflame.

"Hi!" chirped a voice from next to her.

Katie looked up startled, the woman had made her way over to where she was sitting rather quick, although the sneakers probably made that easy.

"Um. Hi," she responded, unsure as to why she had initiated conversation.

"Oh, sorry for intruding on your thinking time. You just looked kinda sad, so I thought I'd say hello!" her enthusiasm was something else, and although Katie was taken aback, she appreciated the friendliness.

"No problem at all, I've just been having a bad couple days is all." She answered, shrugging her shoulders, mouth turning down into a frown.

"Bad break-up?" the blonde asked, giving a sympathetic glance in Katie direction.

"No, well I don't think so. He just disappeared randomly, I'm sure he's okay, he'll be back someday. Hopefully before I lose my mind worrying!" she said giggling into her palm, it felt good to confide in someone.

"I'm Daphne by the way."

"Katie." She smiled, reaching out for a handshake, "Nice to meet you."

The pair of girls sat quietly for a moment, before Katie could hear Daphne fishing in her pocket for something.

"Here" she said, handing Katie a business card that read 'Pinehearst' "This is the company I work for; they can answer your questions."

Katie was confused, "What questions?"

Daphne gave her a knowing look, "About you. About any strange happenings you've come across. About your boyfriend. We can help you find him, if you just ask." Before Katie could protest, Daphne gave a little wave and sped off.

Well actually, she _zoomed _off, as in _hyper-speed_.

"What the…."

She turned the little slip of paper over in her palm, weighing her options.

Daphne obviously had powers, super speed by the look of it, and she had shown Katie so she had to have known Katie had powers too. This company could help her, although Katie was slightly loath to trust companies after what had happened at the last one she visited, being locked up in a cell was not something she wanted to experience again.

But, she said they could help her find Peter, and she really did miss him immensely. In Katie's mind she split the choices:

Option A) Wait for Peter to come home, if ever

Option B) Kick her butt into independent mode and save _him _for a change

"Looking at it this way, it's pretty obvious what I should do." Katie said out loud, dusting off the dirt from her jeans.

"I just hope this isn't a trap." She mumbled, hailing a taxi.

Katie decided it couldn't possibly be a trap, or else the secretaries would be nicer to her. You always want the trapee to feel secure and comfortable, which the snobby size zero wearing seven inch pumps most certainly did not.

She had barely looked up when Katie approached, and shot daggers at her from her eyes when she asked to be pointed in the direction on the director's office.

"It's on the 7th floor." She answered in a fake high pitched voice, before ushering Katie off, saying she had 'work to do'.

"Work my ass," Katie mumbled, stepping into the elevator and pushing the correct floor button, "Probably just sticking more pencils up her butt and starving herself."

A silly little jingle was playing over the speakers; it calmed her nerves somewhat, although her toes were still tapping against the floor anxiously.

_Ding_

The doors slid open to reveal a posh looking waiting room, something straight out of The Devil Wears Prada.

The glossy tile floors matched the wall sconces, which in turn matched the mahogany finishing on the window frames. A large fish tank with numerous colourful aquatic amigos swimming about was placed in the corner, and would have immediately drawn Katie's attention if the door to her left didn't open at that moment.

Out stepped a man wearing a charming suit, who looked painstakingly familiar, although Katie couldn't place him, maybe he just had one of those faces.

" I presume?" he asked, his voice gravelly, yet not altogether unpleasant.

"Yes, that would be me." She responded, shaking his hand in hers, it was wrinkled, but she could feel a hidden strength within them, as though this man was much more spry than he let on.

"My name is Arthur Petrelli; I've heard you're dating my son."


	12. Socks in Bed

**Hey guys and gals!**

**Got a brand new chapter for you, and I want to dedicate this to every reviewer (you guys rock) and every silent follower&favouriter (you guys rule), and to my lovely sister, who really does hate naked feet in the bed (you make me smile).**

**This chapter is extra long, just because I love you guys, and is full of suspense, and romance, and some twists, and a fantastic argument!**

**Please continue to make my day by reading and reviewing! I love to hear your comments**

**Chapter Eleven: Socks in Bed**

Katie liked to daydream, as opposed to her night dreams (which she had little to no control over); those that she crafted directly from her own imagination were often magical, and always pleasurable. When she had first begun to date Peter she would think of how she would finally meet his parents. She had seen pictures of his mother, who bore more resemblance to Nathan if anything, but she was curious to meet her in person, in addition to his father.

Her and Peter would arrive at a posh restaurant, the kind were you paid as much for the food as you would for a month's worth of rent, both wearing dazzling smiles and equally as dazzling dress clothes. His parents would be waiting, in their favourite table by the window, and an open bottle of Chardonnay would be with them. She, Katie knew her name was Angela, had her hair up in a lavish twist, and had pearl earrings that matched her necklace. Katie knew she must have been stunning when she was younger. Peter had never mentioned his father, but Katie could picture him easily. He was tall, like Nathan, but more wiry than stocky, like Peter. He would be a man of impeccable tastes, which showed in his clothes and expensive aftershave.

The pair of them, both mother & father should have made Katie feel quite nervous, but Peter's reassuring hand against hers squeezed away any anxiety, washing her instead with a feeling of serene calm and belonging.

And when the night ended Angela would kiss her cheek and whisper how lovely it was to have met her, her coloured lipstick leaving a soft imprint on Katie's skin. His father would extend his hand, relaying the same sentiments as previously said, and added an invitation up to their country club one day. Katie replied that it would be lovely, and she and Peter would leave in a bright yellow taxi, both smiling at the wonderful evening they just shared.

The circumstances surrounding Katie's first meeting with Peter's parents were rather different however, for one she only met his father. For another they were most certainly not at a fancy restaurant, but standing in a sterile looking lobby, and Peter was not with her.

He wasn't there to provide her with that much needed support, and as such Katie really had to concentrate on keeping her knees from shaking, and her chin from quivering. As it turns out, Arthur Petrelli was a very scary man.

They spoke, mostly him telling her things and her agreeing, and Arthur confessed that he hadn't seen his son in a great while.

"I'm afraid Peter and I had a falling out of sorts, I trust he's never spoken of me?"

Katie grimaced slightly and inclined her head, almost apologetic.

"It's no matter; we will get the chance to catch up soon enough."

"So you know where Peter is then?" Katie clamored; excited at finally getting to the real reason she had come to New Jersey in the first place.

"Actually no, but I do know where he will be sometime today."

"Oh?" she asked disappointed, but still eager to find out anything about his whereabouts.

"Yes, he will be strolling out of that elevator this afternoon, I can guarantee it."

After asking Arthur if he minded, Katie decided to wait out the day at Pinehearst, no reason to go home when Peter was going to show up here anyways.

He showed her around for a few minutes, pointing out anything she might find useful; bathrooms, fire exits, his office, before saying that he needed to be on his way.

Katie glanced at her watch, that had been a solid 3 hours ago. She had done everything she could think of to keep entertained; playing angry birds, watching the cute fish swim around, she'd even ventured back down to the 1st floor to play a game of 'Annoy the bitchy secretary'.

Currently she was in the bathroom, trying to teach herself how to fishtail braid, without much success. She just couldn't seem to bend the proper amount to reach the bottom half of her hair. Grumbling in frustration at yet another botched attempt, Kate gave up, and settled for a loose ponytail.

Tyra Banks had made it seem so easy on TV.

She was pushing open the bathroom door when she clipped someone's shoulder with it's metal corner.

"Oh! I'm sorry-" she gushed, but stopped herself short as her breath caught in her throat.

Brown eyes met hazel, and a shaky hand leapt to Katie's face, before it dropped and instead pushed her back into the bathroom, locking the door behind them.

Katie soon found herself engulfed in a bone crushing hug, which she returned just as enthusiastically. She smiled against a familiar smelling chest, one that had been absent for the past week.

"Katie." Her name rolled off his beautifully lopsided lips like honey, and she sighed deeply, tilting her head towards his.

They met in a unified kiss; first slow but then building in passion until a deep fire began to spread in Katie's stomach.

His hands were lightly gripping her arms, much gentler than the last time they had been this close, and she could feel him stroking his thumbs against her skin.

They broke apart for a moment, which Katie used to stare into Peter's eyes. They seemed haunted, as if the past week had illuminated so much for him and yet he still knew so little.

"I've missed you so much." He mumbled, bending down for another kiss, which she accepted eagerly, soaking him in greedily.  
"Ditto," she smirked, before punching him lightly on the shoulder, "So where the hell have you been this past week then?"

He blinked slowly, frown lines etching themselves into his forehead, "Week?"

Katie rolled her eyes, "Yeah, what are you brain dead or something? You said you were going to visit Nathan in the hospital and then poof! You disappeared!"

Peter twisted his mouth and rubbed the back of his neck, "You're going to want to sit down." He said, ushering her to sit atop the bathroom counter.

As Peter was telling his story Katie didn't say a word, although her eyes betrayed the many emotions that went flickering through her mind. Worry, anger, betrayal…

He spoke briefly about his time in the future, saying that he had been captured and had escaped, though Katie could tell he was hiding something.

By the end he was staring at her warily, unsure as to how she would react.

"So, the person I've been with for the past month hasn't been you?"

"No."

"And that tattooed guy in the bank…that _was_ you?"

"Yes."

"And you weren't the one to save me from The Company?"

This time he hesitated slightly, "No."

"Hm."

Katie slid off of the countertop, unfolding her crossed arms and narrowing her eyes.

"So basically you've been off gallivanting somewhere not giving a shit that I was sitting at home bawling my eyes out over you. Couldn't have dropped in, or given me a ring. That's not the Petrelli 'style' is it?"

"Katie, it's not like that!" Peter started, seeing her anger rising to cataclysmic levels.

"Oh yeah? Then what is it like? It sounds like abandonment to me Peter."

He closed his eyes and groaned, their beautiful reunion, he had pictured it so many times in his mind, was effectively ruined by his big fat mouth. And now Katie was ranting about abandonment, which sounded scarily similar to the way she talked about him in the future.

"Listen, I didn't come to you because I couldn't. I needed to protect you, so I had to do some searching by myself, but I'm back now, and that's all that matters. Right?"

"WRONG!" she screamed, pushing him into the wall, "You think you're so smart Peter, bona fide Albert Einstein here ladies and gents! But you don't know everything, and you definitely don't know what's best for me."

He was trying to keep his patience in check, really he was, but he was about 10 seconds away from shaking the crazy out of Katie.

He realized he had spaced out slightly (oops) and when he came back into whatever she was saying, it seemed as though she had gone off on a tangent.

"-don't wear socks in bed?! Feet are disgusting Peter, and I'm pretty sure you've never EVER washed yours! And for the love of god that stupid thing you do when the microwave is on is so ANNOYING! You don't need to sing 'The final countdown' every time it reaches the 10 seconds mark!"

She was ranting and raving, flailing her arms about like a mad man. Peter was certain she had forgotten he was even there.

But as quick as her anger had escalated it deflated again, and she knocked a weak fist against his chest.

"I love you, stupid boy. Despite your faults. So don't ever leave me again, or I'll hire ninjas to track your ass down, and I'll chain you up in my basement."

"You don't have a basement." He chuckled, stroking her hair gently, glad she was calmer now.

"Shut up," she whispered, hugging him tightly around the middle.

They shared another soft kiss, reminding Katie of how different it was to the harsh kisses of Peter's future self.

He sighed, and detangled their limbs, stroking his thumb gently over her cheek.

"We need to go," he suggested, placing small kisses on Katie's head.

"Five more minutes." She groaned, burying herself into his chest.

He laughed, "I'll leave you here to freshen up, I have someone to go find first, and then we can go back to your apartment." He wiggled his eyes at the end of his sentence, to which Katie rolled her own.

"Okay you sly dog, go ahead." She shooed him out of the woman's washroom, and took some time to fluff up her hair and fix her mascara.

Giving a satisfied smile, she headed into the hallway, before remembering that Peter told her to stay put.

And so she did, but by the time an hour rolled by, and the Harry Potter movie she had been watching on her phone was finished, he still hadn't returned from seeing, Katie guessed, his father.

"What the hell Peter, my ass is asleep." She groaned, rubbing the sore body part and cracking her back.

"Stupid boy must be so caught up in memory lane he forgot all about me. I wonder how much time I spend waiting on him." She said to herself, moving along the hallway in an effort to find her (once again) missing boyfriend.

Katie was trying to remember the way back to the lobby; she had taken a few wrong turns she was sure, and as always her awful sense of direction was acting up.

Then she could hear raised voices coming from her left, one of which she could identify as Peter's, and so she sped off in that direction, thinking vaguely of Daphne who could have gotten there much quicker than she could.

She turned the corner, and was met with a peculiar trio of men; Arthur, Peter and Sylar.

"Why are you showing up in my life so often now?" she huffed at the villain who swore he had flipped sides.

He just smirked at her, turning back to the conversation she had interrupted.

"Ah, . You have stumbled into quite an unfortunate situation I'm afraid, Peter and I were having a rather heated discussion."

"Katie! You have to run-!" her eyes flickered to Peter, who seemed frozen in place. His whole body radiated panic, and when she didn't immediately move it increased tenfold.

"NOW!" he roared, and Katie finally took a step back, looking between the 3 men.

Arthur nodded slightly at Sylar who, giving Katie a snarky smile, moved his index and middle finger ever so slightly.

It's strange how the smallest of things can cause huge reactions. Like how stepping on a butterfly in the past can create hurricanes in the future. Or how a simple finger movement from Sylar can send the man of your dreams tumbling out of the 7th story window of a building.

His screams pierced the stale air, and sent Katie's feet running.

"Peter!" she cried, getting closer to the now broken window, when two hands around her waist halted her movement.

"Get off me you horrible bastard!" she shrieked, flailing uselessly in Sylar's grip "Peter! You have to help him!" she yelled at Arthur, increasing her struggles, "He's your son!"

His silence only infuriated Katie more, prompting her to grab Sylar's arm and shoot some pain into him, which, although made him cry out, didn't make him drop her.

"What the hell?" he groaned, trying to make sense of where all that random pain came from.

She did it again, only with more power, and this time Sylar caught on, and dropped the girl like a ragdoll.

Katie scrambled to her feet, peering out the giant hole in the window to the world below.

She could see Peter being carried into a car by some blonde girl, before she was thrown back into the room by Sylar's telekinesis.

"That hurt." He growled into her ear, pulling her up by her shirt.

"Yeah, well how about this?" she asked, aiming a well-placed kick into his shin, smiling maniacally when it hit home.

He grimaced, weakening his hold, before straightening up, and clenching his free hand into a fist.

"Say goodnight." He told her, before knocking her over the head so that her world faded into oblivion.

"Well," Arthur sighed, glancing at the unconscious girl at his sons feet, "That could have certainly gone better. Although I do say we have earned a rather useful bargaining chip, because something tells me that won't be the last we see of Peter. And the next time he comes sniffing by, we will make sure he is used as a test subject for the new drug."


	13. Piggy-Back

**Hello pretty readers! :)  
This took a while I know, so sorry for the wait (And for the length! It's quite a bit shorter than my usual chapters, for which I aim at around 2,000 words) :S School and junk.  
But it's here now so no need to throw rotten vegetables at me :) Shout-out to my sister who, as usual, has to remind me to get anything done.**

**R&R! Questions, comments, concerns?**

**Chapter Twelve: Piggy-Back**

It's always nice to wake up with something next to you. Unless that someone happens to be psychotic-mass-murderer-Sylar. And he was staring at you.

"Jesus!" Katie yelped, cracking her eyes open to see Sylar's face way to close for comfort. She scooted along the bed in an effort to put some distance between them, but ended up falling onto the floor when her bum met air.

"Mother-"she groaned, rubbing her head as the world tilted so everything was upside down.

A deep chuckle was heard before a hand was thrust into her vision, "Here, I'll help you up."

Katie glared, slapping the man's hand away and pushing herself up on her feet. She was still wearing yesterday's dirty clothes she noticed, and her hair had fallen out of its elastic. Katie glanced around; the room she was in was spacious, and looked more like a study than anything. She had been lying on an ugly puce shaded sofa, which matched the carpet underneath, but everything else was fairly attractive.

A glossy looking desk was set under a window, through which she could see a brightly lit billboard promoting a blue Nissan versa; it was the same billboard that she had looked at before coming into Pinehearst for the first time. That car sent a huge sigh of relief through Katie, who was now reassured that she was still in New Jersey, and hadn't been shipped off to god knows where.

"Why the hell are you here?" she snapped at Sylar, who was staring at her.

"I'm supposed to be looking after you."

Katie sneered, cocking her hip and placing her hands upon it. "Oh yeah? What, you're precious boss doesn't want harm to come to his newest captive?"

He paused, and then quietly walked over to her, hands in his pockets nonchalantly. He stopped a couple steps in front of her, and leaned in close.

"No, but I think my brother would murder me on the spot if I let you hurt yourself while trying to escape, you might jump out the window or something."

"I'm not stupid." She growled, curling her upper lip and taking a defensive stance, fists bunching the fabric on her jeans.

Sylar held his hands up, "Sorry." He shrugged.

Then Katie frowned, "Brother?" As far as she knew he didn't have one, but then again she didn't really know anything about Sylar.

"He's probably just as sick and twisted as you." She spat.

Sylar's harsh laugh resounded through the room, as if he was privy to some private joke that Katie just wouldn't understand.

"Tell me about it. He has a bizarre fascination with sticking his nose into things that don't concern him, and then screwing everything over royally. He tries, I'll give him that, but doesn't know when to quit, until someone gets hurt."

Katie scoffed, "Nice family you've got there, he sounds like a jackass."

Sylar smirked, backing away from Katie and opening the door to leave her room.

"You would know, you're dating him." And then he slammed the door, leaving her alone in her cell-like-room.

She raced after him, pulling on the doors handle and, when that didn't work resorted to banging uselessly on the door.

"Sylar! Open this damn door!" she wailed, fists slapping against the wood. She growled loudly, kicking the door in frustration.

What the hell was he talking about? He was obviously insinuating that Peter and him were brothers….

Which was absolutely impossible. They were on different spectrums of the universe; Peter was the hero, whilst Sylar was clearly the villain. It was like light versus dark, the two men were so unlike.

_But_ a small voice in Katie's brain began; _he has no reason to lie to you._

Katie grunted, yes he does, psychological warfare. Trying to get her and Peter to turn against each other so that he could take over the world and rule as evil mastermind.

But then again that wasn't really Sylar's style.

Katie was frustrated beyond measure trying to sort out all the haphazard ideas formulating in her brain. She was dimly aware of the chipping nail polish on her nails, wondering how on earth they had been destroyed in less than a day. It was probably Sylar's fault, and even if it wasn't it felt good to blame him.

_TapTapTap_

"And here's my prince coming to take me away from this horrible place!" she joked, not looking up from her dying purple nail polish.

_TapTapTap_

At this she peered up, meeting the eyes of a certain flying man.

"Nathan!" she exclaimed, rushing over to the window and jerking it open. She was slightly surprised that it wasn't locked, but as the only way out would have been a massive fall at least 11 stories they probably assumed it was safe to leave it like that.

"I see you've gotten into some trouble since I've last seen you!" he said, hauling her out of the room and grasping her to him tightly. The wind whipped at Katie's hair, sending it all over her face as he flew her away from Pinehearst.

"Yeah well you know me," she chuckled, glancing behind her shoulder at the ground below.

She could almost feel her face turning green, as she willed herself not to be sick. "You're going to have to hurry up and put me down if you don't want me to hurl all over you're girly hair." She moaned

"Hey, my hair is very manly. I just take good care of it." He protested, beginning their decent back to Earth.

"Whatever you say girly man."

They touched ground with a soft thump, Nathan letting go of Katie who cracked her back, delighting in the feeling. "Flying really stiffens you up doesn't it?"

"You'll get used to it."

Katie whirled at the voice coming from behind her, "Peter!" she squealed, launching at him in a fierce hug.

He laughed openly, picking her up on of the ground and spinning her around. "Are you alright? They didn't hurt you?"

She shook her head; "Nope, you amazing guys came to my rescue just in time!" she smiled, leaning in for a small kiss from Peter. They both smiled into it, before breaking off and holding hands. She saw that he had cut his hair, something she didn't realize when they had spoken in the Pinehearst washroom. It made him look distinguished, less boyish and more in charge, something Katie found immensely attractive. She fingered it with her free hand, toying with the fringe.

"I just want us to go back to my house and catch up; we haven't been together for more than fifteen minutes in 5 months! I have so much to tell you," she had expected him to agree wholeheartedly with her suggestion, but instead he frowned.

"I can't." he said, pulling back, "I need to go somewhere."

Katie blinked, "Well, then can you come over when you get back?"

He shook his head, motioning to Nathan, "There's a man in Haiti who we need to talk to."

Nathan nodded "And we need to be going soon Katie, or else we'll miss him."

She shook her head angrily, "I don't care where you're going, I haven't seen you in months, and knowing you if you leave you'll probably never come back."

Peter looked pained, "I understand, but we really have to do this, or else people might get hurt."

"I know. That's why I'm coming with you." She said confidently, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

She was met with intense negativity from both guys, "Absolutely not!" shouted one, "You'll get hurt," shouted the other. She glared them both down, turning towards Peter. "You owe me Peter."

She was lying, he didn't actually owe her anything that she could recall, but the guilt card she played worked somehow, and Peter relented.

_Score_ she thought, giving herself a mental high-five.

"Alright. I guess it will be safer for you to travel with us."

"Great!" she smiled, "I'll just ride piggy-back on Peter and we can fly off to Haiti!" she clapped her hands in joy, glad that the boys had allowed her to come with them.

But they each gave her sad looks before Peter spoke, "I don't have my powers anymore Katie," he started painfully, "my dad took 'em."

Katie stood shocked, "But-but he's your father why-"

"Did you not see him order Sylar to toss me out of a window Katie?! That man is dangerous!" he shouted furiously, though not really at her, more at the situation he had been forced into.

He spat on the ground, causing Katie to flinch slightly.

"No matter," she said, clearing her throat, "Do you think you can handle flying with both of us Nathan?"

He didn't seem altogether pleased by this plan, but nodded nonetheless.

"Then we should go."


	14. Flying Man

**Happy thanksgiving to all you Canadian readers :) I'm extremely thankful to all my wonderful readers, reviewers, favouriters, and silent stalkers, so here's a little Thanksgiving treat to go along with your turkey and pumpkin pie!**

**Chapter Thirteen: Flying Man**

By mid-afternoon, Katie became very aware that she hadn't eaten anything yet that day, and when the grumble of her stomach rang out, so did the Petrelli brothers.

"Sorry!" she called out from her place atop Nathans back. To accommodate carrying both of them Katie was riding piggy back while Peter was hugging Nathan from the front, Katie applauded Nathan for his strength, and the fact that he hadn't dropped either of them yet.

"Nathan, let's stop over there!" Peter yelled, gesturing to a small dinner on his right. Nathan grunted his agreement and they began their descent, touching ground onto a dusty road.

"Where are we, guys?" Katie wondered, looking around for any kind of clue, "Looks like we're in Texas."

"Yeah probably, or somewhere pretty close anyways. C'mon let's go get something to eat." Peter answered her, taking her elbow and veering them both to the front door.

"Hey Nathan?" she called back over her shoulder, he was laying stretched out on the hard ground, painting profusely.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a sec." he replied, groaning and stretching his muscles.

Katie grimaced, "I feel bad." She admitted, "We're not the lightest people in the world."

Peter chuckled, "You wanted to come remember?"

"I know, it's just-"

Peter smiled at her and pushed open the restaurants door, earning a little _ding _in response.

"Don't worry about it Katie, he'll be okay, Nathan's tough."

She shrugged her shoulders and slid into a booth by the window, the red leather making a strange squeaking sound as she did so.

The atmosphere was quiet; little could be heard except for the jukebox in the corner which was playing out 'Livin' on a Prayer'.

"I love this song!" Katie told Peter excitedly, mouthing out the words at the same time of the song. Her toes kept tapping along to the beat even when Bon Jovi started singing the part she didn't know very well.

A waitress came by to take their order, Peter made sure to order a large coffee for Nathan.

"So," Katie began, sipping her iced tea, "You want to hear something cool?"

"Always."

"I discovered the other day that there's a secret passageway in the basement of the New York public library." She said, raising her eyebrows conspiratorially.

Peter laughed, "What were you doing in the library?"

Katie gave him an offended look, "I happen to go to the library all the time, have to keep up on my reading skills and such."

Peter didn't buy it for a second, giving her a look, "Okay, okay. I was renting The Breakfast Club…."

He snorted, "Alright now that I believe."

Katie glared, and then cleared her throat, "So anyways! We should go check it out together, who knows, maybe there's a secret society of aliens down there."

"They'd be very pale aliens."

She considered this, "True, unless they brought self-tanner to Earth from their homelands." She pointed out.

"I feel as though orange skin would clash terribly with their hair."

"Maybe they're all bald."

"Well then how do you tell the difference between the men and the women?"

They both pondered the question for a second, before looking at each other and simultaneously burst out laughing.

They drew the attention of some of the other patrons with their noise, so they calmed down a little, although chuckled and giggles still escaped every once and awhile.

"I miss this." Katie admitted, snatching Peters hand in hers and squeezing it tightly, "I miss those stupid little conversations we used to have before things got so…so…"

"Complicated?" he offered, to which Katie sighed and nodded her head.

"Yeah."

The couple were both lost in their own thoughts for a moment, before the waitress arrived and set down their food.

Katie grabbed her fork and stuck it into the pile of cheesy, gooey pasta, pulling out four huge ravioli pieces.

"Mhmmmm." She groaned, her stomach settling into a blissful state of happiness.

Peter gave her a silly look, and pointed to her meal, "What is that? Is it good?"

"It's amazing!" she replied joyfully, "It's cheese cappeleti; remember we had it at my house like a couple weeks ago?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Peter said, grabbing a forkful of his own food, fish & chips.

"Yeah you do! C'mon, we had the pasta, and then watched Cujo, which I had never seen before and it scared the crap out of me? You made fun of me for hours afterwards!"

Peter shook his head, still confused.

"Think hard Peter-"but then realization dawned on Katie and she shut her mouth with a snap.

It hadn't been Peter that had tried the pasta. It had been his future self…..

As her eyes widened Peter understood as well, forcing a rather awkward silence to form between the two of them. Neither one had spoken about Katie's time with Future Peter, and they had been happy in their state of unknowing but know the subject had been brought up and Katie knew it wouldn't be dropped anytime soon.

"It was him, wasn't it?" he asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"N-no." Katie stuttered shakily, cursing her lack of bravery.

Peter sighed and dropped his fork with a clang that resounded in Katie's ears. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve (Which Katie mentally catalogued in her file of 'Peter's Nasty Habits') and locked eyes with her.

"Katie, I don't blame you. At all. It's really not your fault, it's actually mine if you think about, I wasn't there for you, and someone had to be. I guess if anything it was kind of me, and not some stranger."

"Thank you," Katie said, giving him a small smile which he returned.

They continued to eat their meals, talking about meaningless happenings in the world, and trying to answer the random questions that popped into their brains.

Peter and Katie exited the diner, Katie carrying a small doggy bag that was her and Peter's leftovers; they had decided to save them for Nathan, who never followed them into the diner.

"Geez," Peter mumbled, rubbing his head, "Where did he go?"

Katie jerked her head to the right, "He's over there, look, against the wall."

So he was, Nathan had moved so that his back was pressed up against the wall and his feet were laid out in front of him. Soft snores could be heard as they approached, letting them know that poor Senator Nathan Petrelli had fallen asleep.

Katie chuckled when she saw him, "Should we leave him?"

"I guess," said Peter, settling down on the ground next to his brother, "We'll just have to wait until he gets up. Take it from me; you _do not_ want to rouse him when he's asleep. "

"I'm sure he's not that bad!"

Peter shook his head, "He's worse."

Relenting, Katie plopped down next to Peter, set the bag aside and curled up into his chest, reveling in the warmth.

She could feel him stroking her hair softly, causing her eyes to grow heavier and heavier.

"I love you," she whispered, right before she fell asleep.

Peter paused, and placed a kiss on her head, "I love you too Katie."

He watched over them the rest of the day, until Nathan finally woke up the next morning when the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty." Peter smirked at his brother when his eyes cracked open.

"Shut up," Nathan replied smartly, rolling his eyes.

They were flying over dense Haitian jungle when Katie spotted a dark mass beginning to cross the sun, looking extremely ominous and foreboding.

"Is that an eclipse?" she asked aloud, but never got to hear either boy's response as at that moment they were falling.

"Aahhh!" Katie shrieked, tumbling off of Nathan's back and through the air heading for a large body of water below them.

She hit the water with enough force to make her reel back from the sting, and had opened her mouth for another scream when it filled with water.

Struggling, Katie kicked for, what she hoped, was the surface, lungs screaming at her furiously. Finally her head broke above the water, and she paddled towards the shore, where she could see Peter and Nathan already waiting for her. Coughing violently she pulled herself up, ringing out the water from her shirt and hair, and thanking god she had worn sandals and not sneakers, which are a bitch to wear when wet.

"What the hell was that!" she exclaimed, poking Nathan hard in the chest, "Why did you drop us?"

He bristled, and grabbed her finger, shoving it back towards her body; "I didn't drop you, my powers have stopped working." He sneered, "Why, is the wicked witch of the west going to melt because she got a little wet?"

"Hey!" Peter butted in, stepping between the two glaring people and placing his hands on Nathan's shoulder.

"Calm down Nathan. Let's just start walking; it'll be awhile before we get to where we're going." He then gently pushed Nathan off, giving him a shooing motion.

The brother scowled once more and headed off, the Peter rounded on Katie.

"What about you, have your powers stopped?" he asked, reaching for her hand.

She pulled back, "Good riddance if they have." She snapped, crossing her arms.

"Hey," he said softly, tucking some loose strands of hair behind her ear, and gently rubbing her cheek, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, tired I guess. Sorry," she smiled at his concern, and leaned close to him, giving him a slow kiss which sent tingles along her spine.

Peter responded, pulling her close to him and tangling his fingers in her hair, moaning slightly as Katie nipped playfully on his lower lip.

"Are you coming or not!" Nathans voice interrupted them; forcing an abrupt end to their kiss and sending them back into reality.

Katie giggled, "Alright let's go find Nathan before he has a conniption fit."

They hoisted their backpacks higher and entered the dense jungle, seeing Nathan not too far away they jogged up to him, and the three began their search for Samdee.

"Don't beg, don't break, baby don't back down~" sang Katie for the eighth time, wiggling her hips in tune with the song.

Beside her Nathan was rubbing his head and squinting his eyes at her, "Do you _have _to sing that again?" he asked her tightly.

"It's stuck in my head!" she moaned, glancing to her other side at Peter, giving him a pitiful look.

"Katie, can't you sing _something else? _ANYTHING else?"

She harrumphed and shut her mouth, "Fine, I'll stop."

"Thank you!" breathed out Nathan, who smiled at her, and hooked his arm around her shoulder.

"Gross Nathan, you're all sweaty. " she said lightly, pushing him away.

She accidentally pushed him too hard though, and he went tumbling into the bush next to them.

Katie could hear him swearing, trying to pick himself up, and failing miserably.

"Oh! Haha, I'm so sorry!" she spoke through her laughter, helping him up, and noticing that some berries had stained his white shirt.

"Who wears a white shirt on an adventure anyways?" she laughed, and heard Peter chuckle at her comment as well.

"Obviously people who don' know you very well." He replied crisply, going back to stoic, serious Nathan. He stalked away from Peter and Katie, looking left and right to see which direction he ought to go in.

"He's so bipolar sometimes," Peter admitted to Katie, who glanced up at him smiling, "Good thing I got the normal brother eh?"

Peter smiled, giving her a small peck on the lips, "Good thing."

"Nathan! That's not the right direction!" he called after his older brother who had turned right instead of left.

"Yes is it!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

Katie sighed, walking behind an increasingly loud Peter and rolling her eyes. The brothers talking in quiet voices now, because Katie was far away she couldn't really hear them very well, but they seemed to be discussing something serious, because Peter was frowning and Nathan had a hard look in his eyes.

She hung back for a moment, not wanting to intrude on what looked like a very important conversation. When they stopped she ran over, giving Peter's shoulder a squeeze because he looks very upset about something.

He shrugged it off, but sent her an apologetic smile. Katie understood that he probably wanted some space, so didn't take offense…..much.

She turned and bumped into Nathan's back, he was staring at a dark skinned man in front of us, who was giving the universal sign of quiet.

Katie noticed he had nice skin.


End file.
